] 


AMERICAN  SOCIETY  OF  CIVIL  ENGINEERS. 


RAPID  TRANSIT 

AND 

TERMINAL  FREIGHT  FACILITIES. 


REPOKT  OF  COMMITTEE  APPOINTED  SEPTEMBER,  3d,  1874, 
to  Investigate  the  Best  Means  op  Rapid  Transit  and 
of  Handling  Freight  in  and  about  the 
City  op  New  York. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1875,  by  the  American  Society  of  Civil 
Eugiueera,  in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington, 


American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers, 
63  William  Street,  New  York. 

At  the  regular  meeting  of  the  Society,  held  February  3d,  1875,  the 
Report  of  the  Committee  on  "Rapid  Transit  and  the  Handling  of 
Freight  in  New  York,"  was  presented,  read,  and  the  following  resolu- 
tion adopted  : 

• '  JV/iereas,  There  are  grave  doubts  in  the  Society  on  the  propriety 
of  this  association  taking  such  action  upon  the  Report  on  Rapid  Transit 
as  may  be  construed  into  an  endorsement  thereof  by  the  Society  ; 
therefore, 

• '  Resolved,  That  the  admirable  report  presented  to-day  be  accepted, 
with  thanks  ;  the  Committee  discharged,  and  the  paper  published  in 
usual  course,  as  a  paper  contributed  by  the  subscribing  members  of  the 
Committee,  with  this  resolution  printed  at  its  head." 

In  accordance  with  the  above  resolution,  this  report  will  appear  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Society  for  April.  In  view  of  the  great  local  interest 
manifested  in  the  subject,  however,  advance  copies  are  now  printed  to 
serve  in  the  discussions  which  are  set  down  for  the  meetings  of  the 
Society,  as  follows  : 

At  the  afternoon  meeting,  March  3d,  1875,  on  Part  I,  Rapid  Transit, 
and  at  the  evening  meeting,  March  17th,  1875,  on  Part  II,  Terminal 
Freight  Facilities. 


AMERICAN  SOCIETY  OF  CIVIL  ENGINEERS. 

INCORPORATED  1852. 


 .».».»»  

Note. — This  Society  is  not  responsible,  as  a  body,  for  the  facts  and  opinions  advanced  in  any 
of  its  publications. 


RAPID  TRANSIT  AND  TERMINAL  FREIGHT  FACILITIES, 

A  Eeporfc  by  O.  Chanute,  M.  N.  Forney,  Ashbel  Welch, 
Charles  K.  Graham,  and  Francis  Collingwood,  Members 
of  the  Society. 

Read  February  3d,  1875. 
 *•»  

New  York,  January  30th,  1875. 

10  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers : 

At  the  regular  meeting  held  September  3d,  1874,  it  was*- 
"Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  members  of  this  Society  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  President,  to  investigate  the  necessary  conditions  of 
"  success,  and  to  recommend  plans  for — " 

"  First. — The  best  means  of  rapid  transit  for  passengers,  and 
£i  Second. — The  best  and  cheapest  methods  of  delivering,  storing  and 
"  distributing  goods  and  freight,  in  and  about  the  city  of  New  York, 
"  with  instructions  to  examine  plans,  and  to  receive  suggestions  such  as 
i '  parties  interested  in  the  matter  may  choose  to  offer,  and  to  report  on  or 

11  before  the  first  day  of  December,  1874." 

Your  c  mimittee  has  found  itself  unable  to  report  within  the  prescribed 
time.  The  magnitude  of  the  investigation  must  be  the  excuse  ;  and  even 
now  the  committee  feels  that  its  examination  has  done  little  more  than 
remove  some  of  the  rubbish  which  has  accumulated  about  the  subjects 
presented. 

Deeming  that  the  first  step  requisite  was  to  collect  facts,  your  com- 
mittee has  endeavored  to  obtain  all  the  data  that  could  be  procured.  Its 
members  have  read  all  the  publications  they  could  find  upon  these 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
(in  roF  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


2 


voluminous  subjects.  They  have  adverts ed  by  circular  for  communica- 
tions in  writing,  ami  have  held  rive  public  meetings  at  the  rooms  of  the 
Society  to  give  hearings  to  such  parties  as  chose  to  appear.  They 
have  sought  interviews  with  all  persons  and  organized  bodies  who  were 
likely  to  possess  information,  and  have  obtained  the  co-operation  of  the 
Produce  Exchange  and  the  Grocer's  Board  of  Trade  in  gathering  statis- 
tics. They  have  addressed  a  circular  to  the  property  owners  and  tenants 
along  the^New  York  Elevated  Railroad,  inquiring  into  the  effect  of  the 
operations  of  that  road  upon  business  and  property  along  its  line,  and 
they  have  arranged  with  a  Member  of  the  Society,  Mr.  Wilson  Crosby,  to 
give  his  time  gratuitously  to  the  collection  of  data  as  to  the  cost  of  hand- 
ling freights.  They  have  held  many  private  meetings,  to  discuss  and 
examine,  with  the  aid  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Society,  the  large  mass 
of  materials  thus  accumulated.  They  here  wish  to  return  their  thanks 
to  the  many  gentlemen  with  whom  they  have  come  in  contact,  for  the 
valuable  aid  rendered,  as  well  as  for  the  courtesy  and  imtienee  with 
which  their  enquiries  (often  consuming  valuable  time)  have  been  an- 
swered, and  the  desired  information  supplied. 

The  2>assenger  and  freight  questions  will  be  discussed  separately. 


Part.  I — Rapid  Transit  for  Passengers. 

Your  committee  will  leave  it  entirely  for  others  to  point  out  the  im- 
portance of  rapid  transit  to  the  people  of  the  city  of  New  York. 

The  first  and  most  important  requirement,  as  it  seems  to  us,  is  that 
the  fares  shall  be  as  low,  or  nearly  as  low,  as  upon  the  street  railroads 
which  run  through  the  city.  Nothing  else  would  enable  the  rapid  tran- 
sit roads  to  secure  the  enormous  traffic  which  they  must  have,  to  be 
profitable,  or  to  enable  them  to  be  of  real  sendee  to  the  general  public. 
The  volume  of  business  awaiting  them  is  undoubted.  The  Table  in 
Appendix  A  shows  that  the  horse  railroads  and  omnibuses  alone  carried 
nearly  150,000,000  passengers  in  1873,  and  with  proper  facilities  this 
may  be  expected  to  increase  largely.  The  present  accommodations  are 
clearly  inadequate,  and  there  must  be  more  roads  from  the  upper  to  the 
lower  part  of  the  island.  The  trains  should  run  at  high  speed,  but  low 
fares  cannot  be  charged  if  an  enormous  business  is  not  secured,  or  if  the 
cost  of  operation  and  construction  be  onerously  expensive. 

The  people  of  the  city  of  New  Y'ork,  are,  perhaps  themselves  in  some 
degree  the  cause  of  the  failure  thus  far  to  devise  any  practicable  scheme 
of  rapid  transit.    Without  procuring  the  collection  of  the  data  upon 


3 


which  alone  an  opinion  should  be  based,  they  have  hitherto  insisted  upon 
expensive  and  onerous  requirements-.  Roads  of  great  capacity  to  be 
operated  at  high  speed,  have  been  asked  for,  but  at  the  same  time  it  has 
been  required  that  locomotives  should  not  be  used,  or  if  they  were, 
that  they  should  be  out  of  sight  and  out  of  hearing,  and  especially 
that  they  should  not  run  near  respective  individual  properties,  and 
that  the  fares  should  be  lower  per  mile  than  upon  the  ordinary  rail- 
roads of  the  country.  These  are  in  compatible  requireni&ts  ;  they 
have  produced  a  plentiful  crop  of  impracticable  devices  to  reconcile 
them,  as  your  committee  have  become  painfully  aware  during  the 
course  of  the  investigation.  Hitherto  the  requirements  of  the 
charters  granted  have  been  so  onerous,  that  upon  making  careful 
estimates  of  the  cost,  the  corporators  have  found  themselves  unable 
to  attract  the  necessary  capital,  or  in  the  single  case  in  which  they 
have  proceeded  with  the  work,  that  of  the  Elevated  Railroad  on 
Greenwich  street,  they  have  found  themselves  so  hampered  with  im- 
practicable conditions,  as  to  cripple  the  enterprise  from  the  beginning, 
so  that  now  the  general  impression  prevails  among  average  investors, 
that  rapid  transit  roads  must  be  unprofitable. 

In  order  to  secure  rapid  transit  for  the  city  of  New  York,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  sacrifice  to  it  some  conveniences  and  many  prejudices  ;  to  furnish 
at  least  a  practicable  location  for  the  roads  free  of  charge  (for  such  can- 
not afford  to  pay  for  the  right  of  way  over  any  considerable  portion  of  their 
routes),  and  to  consent  to  such  cheap  and  sound  plans  as  will  make  it 
reasonably  certain  that  the  enterprise  will  eventually  pay  a  moderate  re- 
turn upon  the  investment.  New  York  capitalists  are  probably  quite 
ready  to  undertake  rapid  transit  under  these  conditions.  They  would 
doubtless  prefer  to  invest  their  money  at  home,  where  they  can  watch 
their  interests,  than  to  send  it  to  newer  parts  of  the  country,  but  they 
must  be  made  to  see  some  hope  of  returns  upon  their  investment. 

The  cost  of  transportation  is  dependent  upon  two  circumstances  ;  first, 
the  cost  of  actual  operation,  and  second,  the  interest  upon  the  capital  in- 
vested. Rapid  transit  seeks  to  substitute  for  a  system  of  street  sar  lines, 
costing,  fully  equipped,  about  839,09c)  or  $90,000  per  mile  of  double  track, 
and  operated  by  animal  power,  a  cheaper  mode  of  propulsion,  in  connec- 
tion with  which  the  speed  shall  be  greatly  increased,  passengers  shall  all 
be  provided  with  seats,*  and  with  far  greater  comfort  than  they  now  enjoy, 

*  The  committee  recommends  that  no  authority  be  granted  to  any  company  to  build  a 
rapid  transit  railroad,  without  the  express  stipulation  that  not  more  than  half  fare  shall  he 
collected,  unless  the  passenger  is  provided  ivith  a  seat  on  demand. 


# 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


http://archive.org/details/rapidtransittermOOamer 


4 


but  for  which  the  fare  shall  not  be  materially  higher  than  at  present. 
While,  therefore,  it  is  quite  possible,  by  the  adoption  of  a  cheaper  motive 
power,  such  as  steam,  and  by  aggregating  passengers  in  train  loads,  in- 
stead of  single  cars,  to  convey,  even  at  high  speed,  somewhat  cheaper 
than  is  now  done  at  low  speed  ;  if  the  fares  be  limited  by  existing  cir- 
cumstances, as  we  believe  they  are,  it  will  wholly  depend  upon  the 
volume  of  business,  and  the  amount  of  capital  invested,  whether  a  rapid 
transit  road  will  pay. 

Being  of  the  opinion,  after  weighing  all  that  has  been  said  and  written 
on  the  subject,  that  the  chief  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  construction  of  a 
rapid  transit  road  in  New  York,  has  been  the  uncertainty  which  exists  in 
the  minds  of  capitalists  in  regard  to  the  important  question,  whether  such 
a  road  would  be  profitable,  the  committee  deemed  it  necessary,  as  a  pre- 
liminary basis,  to  ascertain  what  would  be  the  probable  earnings  and 
expenses  of  rapid  transit  roads,  and  on  what  amount  of  capital  the  net 
revenue  thus  estimated  would  pay  a  fair  rate  of  interest.  The  usual 
methods  of  assuming  the  operating  expenses  to  be  a  certain  percentage 
of  the  earnings,  seemed  to  us  quite  worthless,  when  applied  to  roads 
possessing  so  many  features  of  novelty.  During  the  progress  of  this 
inquiry,  therefore,  two  of  the  members  of  the  committee  made  careful 
estimates,  from  the  best  data  they  could  obtain,  of  the  possible  revenues, 
and  of  the  cost  of  running  trains  furnishing  the  required  accomo- 
dations. These  computations  were  entirely  independent  of  each  other  ; 
while  such  were  in  progress,  the  members  of  the  committee  avoided 
the  discussion  of  the  subject  among  themselves,  in  order  not  to 
bias  each  other.  The  result  was  gratifying.  Although  carried  on  by 
somewhat  different  processes,  the  final  computations  agreed  so  closely  as 
to  give  the  committee  confidence  in  the  approximate  correctness  of  their 
estimates.    These  are  given  separately  in  Appendices  A  and  B. 

From  the  result  of  these  investigations,  the  committee  has  concluded 
that  such  roads  can  be  made  to  pay,  upon  a  volume  of  traffic  not  much, 
if  any,  greater  than  that  now  carried  upon  existing  street  car  lines,  and  that 
while  it  is  possible  the  profits  will  not  be  sufficient  at  first  to  pay 
interest  upon  the  whole  of  the  capital  invested,  yet  the  business  is  likely 
to  grow  very  fast ;  and  so  soon  as  the  population  has  adjusted  itself  to 
the  new  facilities  furnished,  the  volume  of  travel  which  may  legitimately 
be  expected  will  pay  large  returns  upon  the  investment  required,  if  the 
roads  are  judiciously  built. 

We  have  become  satisfied  that  the  character  of  the  road  which  can 


5 


be  afforded  will  depend  largely  upon  the  route,  and  business  which  it  can 
command.  It  may  be  said,  in  general  terms,  that  at  a  rate  of  fare  not 
materially  greater  than  upon  the  existing  horse  railroads,  say  six  or  seven 
cents  for  any  distance  over  each  operating  division  of  about  five  miles  in 
length,  (or  about  1  \  cents  per  passenger  per  mile),  a  volume  of  traffic  equal 
to  that  now  passing  over  the  Third  Avenue  Railroad,  say  27  000  000  pas- 
sengers per  annum,  would  warrant  an  expenditure  for 'the  construction 
and  equipment  of  a  rapid  transit  road  of  about  8935  000  per  mile  of  double 
track,  and  at  the  above  rate  a  traffic  equal  to  that  now  passing  over  the 
Eighth  Avenue  line,  say  15  000  000  passengers  per  annum,  would  pay  on 
an  expenditure  of  about  $650  000  per  mile.  Adequate  rapid  transit  roads, 
located  in  the  vicinity  of  these  now  favorite  routes  might  do  even  more 
business;  they  would  very  soon  develop  new  traffic  of  their  own  by 
settling  up  the  upper  part  of  the  Island,  while  it  is  probable  that  the 
increased  business  which  would  be  secured  upon  the  Harlem  Railroad,  if 
steam  transportation  were  properly  extended  from  42d  street  to  the 
Battery,  would  justify  it  in  making  an  investment  of  about  $1  500  000 
per  mile  for  that  purpose.  The  data  upon  which  these  opinions  are 
based  will  be  found  in  full  in  Appendices  A  and  B. 

As,  however,  the  western  upper  portion  of  the  island  otters  much  the 
most  attractive  sites  for  new  residences,  it  seems  probable  that  its 
population  and  travel  would  speedily  grow  to  be  as  large  as  those  now 
existing  upon  the  east  side.  We,  therefore,  believe  it  not  unfair  to 
assume  that  the  traffic  on  rapid  transit  roads  would  in  a  few  years  be 
equal  to  35  000  000  passengers  per  annum*  on  each  side  of  the  island, 
and  that  it  would  warrant  an  expenditure  of  about  $935  000  per  mile  of 
road. 

In  view  of  the  tendency  of  such  works  to  overrun  the  estimates,  it 
would  not  be  prudent  to  make  plans  of  an  estimated  cost  of  much  more 
than  three-quarters  those  sums.  This  leaves  an  amount  of  -81  125  000 
per  mile,  which  the  Harlem  Road  could  afford  to  invest,  and  of  about 
8700  000  a  mile,  which  could  profitably  be  applied  to  an  independent  line, 
securing  a  traffic  of  about  35  000  000  passengers  annually  upon  either 
side  of  the  city.  While  the  equipment  of  a  new  western  road  costs  but 
about  85  000  per  mile  of  road,  the  rolling  stock  and  stations  to  do  this 
business  will  cost  about  S-Ji>5  000  a  mile,  so  that  sums  of  $900  000  and  of 


*  The  Metropolitan  Railway  (London  Underground)  carried  43  533  973  passengers  over  its 
six  miles  of  road  in  1873,  and  44  118  225  in  1874. 


6 


$475  000  per  mile,  respectively,  would  be  Left  to  pay  for  the  road  proper. 
If  an  elevated  road  be  selected,  its  cost  will  largely  depend  upon  the  rolling 
loads  which  are  provided  Eor,  so  that  the  weight  of  the  engines  and  cars 
really  become  in  that  case  the  governing  elements.  Jn  our  judgment  the 
success  or  failure  of  the  rapid  transit  roads  will  largely  depend  upon  the 
skillful  design  and  the  lightness  of  the  rolling  stock. 

This,  however,  is  but  one  of  many  requirements,  and  pecfect  success 
requires  that  each  one  of  its  elements  shall  be  ascertained  and  observed. 
Rapid  transit  in  New  York  is  so  nicely  balanced  between  financial  success 
and  failure,  that  it  cannot  afford  to  pay  for  mistakes,  either  of  principle, 
policy  or  material  detail.  It  stands  to-day  much  in  the  same  position  as 
did  the  modern  railway  before  Stephenson  accomplished  success  on  the 
Liverpool  and  Manchester  line.  We  feel  persuaded  that  the  same 
gratifying  results  can  be  achieved  for  rapid  transit. 

Conditions  of  Success. 
From  the  large  mass  of  information  which  we  have  gathered,  and  the 
discussions  thereon,  the  following  seem  to  us  to  be  the  leading  conditions 
of  success  for  rapid  transit  roads  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

1st.  Capacity. — Each  road  must  be  prepared  to  do,  audit  should  secure 
a  larger  volume  of  passenger  business  than  is  now  done  upon  any  steam 
railroad  in  the  world,  save  the  London  underground  roads.  The  Third 
Avenue  Railroad  reports  that  in  1873,  it  carried  2C>  950  000  passengers  on 
its  8  miles  of  road  or  18  miles  of  track,  while  the  New  York  Central 
Railroad  reports,  that  with  its  858  miles  of  road,  and  1  716  miles  of  main 
and  side  tracks,  it  carried  but  7  G30  741  passengers.  It  is  true  that  the 
passengers  on  the  New  Y^ork  Central  rode  much  longer  distances  than 
those  on  the  Third  Avenue  line,  yet  if  Ave  assume  that  the  passengers  on 
the  latter  traveled  an  average  of  but  one  and  a  half  miles  each  (and  our 
information  leads  us  to  believe  this  is  an  under  estimate),  we  have  an 
aggregate  of  40  425  000  miles  traveled  on  the  Third  Avenue  against  a 
total  of  339  122  (321  miles  traveled  on  the  Central  Road.  The  volume  of 
business  assumed  in  calculating  that  the  Harlem  Railroad  could  afford  to 
spend  Si  500  000  a  mile  to  extend  its  road  to  the  Battery  was  35  000  000 
passengers  per  annum,  or  something  like  100  000  per  day.  Probably 
about  one-half  of  this  number  must  be  moved  down-town  during  three 
hours  in  the  morning,  and  back  in  about  the  same  time  in  the  afternoon  ; 
say  50  000  in  six  hours.  To  be  successful,  therefore,  the  road  must 
be  prepared  to  transport  about  8  400  p.issengers  per  hour  in  one  direction 
at  certain  times  of  the  day.    If,  during  those  hours,  the  cars,  with  a 


7 


seating  capacity  of  46,  average  -40  passengers,  then  210  cars  per  hour, 
say  70  trains  of  3  cars  each,  or  42  trains  of  5  cars  each,  must  pass 
the  southern  terminus.  At  the  rate  of  speed  of  the  horse-cars,  this  can 
be  done  on  a  double  track,  but  increased  speed  requires  greater  spaces 
between  trains,  and  increased  track  accommodations  become  desirable. 
The  first  consequences,  therefore,  of  the  capacity  required  would  seem 
to  be  :  (A),  That  the  rapid  transit  roads  should  be  double-tracked  over 
the  whole  of  the  routes,  and  be  prepared  to  provide  four  tracks  below 
the  point  where  the  business  gathers  in  sufficient  volume  to  warrant  it ; 
and  (B),  that  it  is  not  practicable  to  accommodate  freight  trains  over  the 
passenger  lines,  although  an  express  and  mail  business  may  be  done.* 

2d.  Safety. — This  condition  of  success  needs  no  argument.  The  road 
must  not  only  be  absolutely  safe,  but  appear  so.  It  must  inspire  entire 
confidence  in  order  to  secure  the  volume  of  travel  which  alone  can  make 
it  profitable,  t 

3d.  Accessibility. — Not  only  must  the  roads  and  stations  be  so  ar- 
ranged that  they  shall  be  convenient  of  access  from  the  street,  but  ar- 
rangement must  be  so  made  that  business  shall  be  gathered  readily  from  all 
parts  of  the  city.  J  Messrs.  Richard  and  Samuel  Buel,  who  have  presented 
much  the  best  paper  on  rapid  transit  which  has  been  laid  before  your 
committee,  propose  that  this  shall  be  done  by  a  system  of  cross-town  lines 
of  horse  railroads  operated  in  connection  with  rapid  transit  roads.  The 
committee  recommends  that  the  whole  of  this  paper  be  printed. 

4th.  Cheapness  of  Construction. — We  have  already  stated  the  sums 
which  our  calculations  indicate  can  profitably  be  invested.  It  seems 
clear  that  in  order  to  economiz  3  money  in  construction,  the  right  of  way 

*  This  necessity  to  provide  for  and  to  obtain  an  enormous  business,  entails  several  other 
consequences.  (C).  In  order  to  proportion  the  accommodation  to  the  varying  volume  of  busi- 
ness at  different  hours  of  the  day,  the  motive  power  and  trains  must  be  susceptible  of  divi- 
sion. We  believe  that  light  locomotives  will  be  found  best  to  fulfill  these  conchtiona,  but  will 
treat  this  b  anch  of  the  subject  hereafter  more  at  length.  (D.)  The  various  paits  of  the  road 
and  its  trains  must  be  so  arranged  that  a  failure  or  accident  to  one  train  shall  not  materially 
interfere  with  the  operations  of  the  others.  (E).  There  must  be  no  time  table  so  far  as  the 
public  is  concerned.  Trains  must  be  so  frequent  tbat  the  passengers  shall  always  be  sure  to 
obtain  conveyance  within  a  few  minutes. 

t  The  principal  consequences  are :  (A).  The  trains  mus  be  made  as  light  as  possible  in 
order  that  they  may  be  quickly  stopped.  (B).  The  cars  should  be  provided  with  safety  whet  Is 
or  other  appliances  to  prevent  derailment.  Their  constructi-  n  will  be  more  fully  discussed 
hereafter.    (C*.  The  road  must  be  operated  by  the  most  approved  system  of  block  signals. 

(D)  .  It  will  be  advisable  to  equip  the  rolliog  stock  with  safety  platforms  and  train  brakes 

(E)  .  The  roadway  must  be  made  at  least  as  safe  as  that  of  ordinary  surface  railreads. 
+Among  the  principal  consequences  of  this  condition  seems  to  be:    (A),  J  he  cars  should  be 

entered  and  left  from  the  sides,  instead  of  at  the  ends,  in  order  to  fill  and  empty  them  quickly. 
(B),  The  station  platforms  should  be  about  as  long  as  the  trains. 


8 


must  be  given  through  the  existing  streets.  No  road  can  afford  to  pur- 
chase the  right  of  way  except  at  the  few  points  required  to  pass  from  the 
line  of  one  street  to  that  of  another.  Even  the  proposal  to  open  new 
avenues  at  public  expense  for  that  purpose,  cannot  he  entertained  because 

of  the  large  cost  and  delay  it  involves.  The  existing  streets  are  ample  for 
the  surface  traffic  ;  a  portion  above  or  under  them  must  he  made  available 
for  rapid  transit. 

5th.  Adequacy. — It  seems  to  us  that  in  planning  even  the  first  of  the 
rapid  transit  roads,  it  is  necessary  to  consider  it  as  a  part  of  a  general  sys- 
tem, and  to  enquire  what  lines  are  likely  hereafter  to  he  built.  If  one 
road  is  successful,  other  portions  of  the  city  will  claim  equal  advantages, 
and  capital  maybe  found  to  undertake  rival  roads.  It  appears  reasonably 
certain  that,  at  first,  not  more  than  two  lines  are  likely  to  pay.  The 
topography  of  the  island,  and  its  division  into  nearly  equal  portions  on 
each  side  of  Central  Park,  seem  to  indicate  that  there  must  be  two  rapid 
transit  roach,  one  f  >r  the  e  ist  side,  an  1  another  for  the  west  side.  If  more 
roads  are  hereafter  c  mstrucfced,  it  seem?  to  us  that  no  matter  by  whom  built, 
such  are  likely  in  time  to  amalgamate  into  groups  on  each  side  of  the  city, 
and  to  be  operated  if  possible  as  a  belt,  upon  which  trains  will  be  run 
around  in  a  circuit  in  both  directions. 

The  time  and  expense  consumed  in  switching  and  in  making  up  trains, 
with  the  varying  requirements  as  to  frequency  over  various  parts  of  the 
lines,  might  induce  their  division  into  a  series  of  loop  lines,  on  which 
cars  of  different  colors  (to  distinguish  them),  and  having  different  rates 
of  fare,  might  be  run  in  circuits  of  such  length  and  with  such  frequency 
as  would  be  found  to  be  requisite.  This  would  truly  secure  rapid  transit  ; 
the  trains  from  the  upper  loops,  for  instance,  after  gathering  their  loads, 
would  make  no  stops,  except  in  order  to  discharge  local  passengers  at 
the  points  of  junction  of  the  succeeding  loops,  and  below  a  certain  point 
at  high  speed,  upon  independent  tracks. 

If  these  views  are  correct,  it  seems  to  your  committee  that  it  would 
be  wise  to  begin  with  an  approximate  plan  of  the  general  system,  and 
that  it  would  be  well  to  placa  the  control  of  the  group  of  lines  on  each 
side  of  the  city  in  fche  hands  of  a  separate  company,  who  should  build 
first  such  portions  as  are  most  likely  to  succeed,  and  extend  the  re- 
mainder as  business  may  require,  or  when  the  traffic  reaches  a  certain 
volume  on  the  then  existing  line.  Such  a  course  would  protect  investors 
from  the  risk  of  future  competition,  and  restrict  within  fixed  limits  the 
damage  to  property  owners. 


9 


6th.  Recognition  of  existing  Interests. — The  next  condition  of  suc- 
cess seems  to  be  the  consideration  and  promotion  of  existing  interests. 
The  roads  should  be  made  to  supplement,  so  far  as  possible,  the  exist- 
ing street  railroads,  instead  of  being  in  opposition  to  them.  New  traffic 
will,  under  such  circumstances,  be  developed  so  rapibly,  that  it  is  not  im- 
probable the  increase  of  short  local  travel  will  compensate  for  the  diver- 
sion of  through  business.  The  present  surface  lines  can  be  made  of 
great  use  in  collecting  way  travel  for  the  rapid  transit  roads,  especially  as 
it  is  desirable,  in  order  to  save  the  time  consumed  in  stops,  that  the 
stations  on  the  latter  shall  not  be  less  than  half  a  mile  apart.  It  seems 
"  taaij  flN^  ^ia*  when  a  route  is  decided  upon,  the  control  of  the  improved 
mode  of  travel  should  under  proper  restrictions,  be  first  offered  to  the  par- 
ties now  operating  a  surface  road  upon  that  line,  and  to  provide  that  the 
steam  and  horse  railroads  shall  make  suitable  arrangements  for  inter- 
change of  tickets.  We  must  also  recognize  that  there  are  many  miles  of 
rapid  transit  roads  built  within  the  limits  of  the  city.  The  Hudson  River 
Railroad,  from  Sixty-tilth  streetto  Spuyten  Devil ;  the  New  York  Elevated 
Railroad ;  the  Fourth  Avenue  Improvement  of  the  Harlem  Railroad,  the 
Spuyten  Devil  and  Port  Morris,  and  the  Harlem  and  Port  Chester,  as 
well  as  the  railroad  lines  immediately  beyond  the  limits  of  the  city,  may 
be  utilized  for  this  purpose.  A  general  rapid  transit  scheme  should  make 
use  of  these  existing  lines  as  far  as  practicable,  and  by  throwing  over 
them  business  which  they  do  not  now  get  or-perfectly  enjoy,  save  the  cost 
of  unnecessary  parallel  lines  and  render  the  profits  of  the  increased7 
suburban  traffic  on  the  old  lines  available  to  pay  the  interest  charges  on 
the  new  roads.  A  paying  road,  receiving  new  business  from  any  source, 
can  afford  to  do  it  at  but  little  more  than  the  increased  cost  occasioned 
thereby  ;  for  the  interest  upon  the  investment  being  already  provided 
for  by  the  existing  traffic,  all  aditional  profit  is  clear  profit,  and  adds 
directly  to  the  value  of  the  property.  This  is  well  understood  by  railroad 
managers,  and  is  constantly  applied  in  fixing  through  freight  rates. 

It  may  not  be  practicable  to  utilize  all  the  lines  which  have  been  men- 
tioned ;  whatever  is  done,  it  will  be  better  to  arrange  that  the  light  rapid 
transit  trains  shall  run  over  these  lines,  so  as  not  to  bring  in  the  hea^fr 
trains  over  the  rapid  transit  roads.  The  latter  arrangement  would  largely 
increase  the  variable  loads  to  be  provided  for,  and  the  consequent  cost  of 
the  structure. 

The  possibility  of  utilizing  these  lines,  which  are  all  (with  the  excep- 
ion  tof  the  New  York  Elevated  Railroad)  of  4  feet  8|  inches  gauge,  fixes 

2 


10 


the 'adoption  of  this  standard  gauge  for  future  rapid  transit  roads.  In 
fact,  it  would  be  expedient  for  the  Elevated  Railroad  to  alter  its  gauge, 
which  is  now  4  feet  lo  inches,  before  materially  extending  its  line.* 

7th.  Protection  of  public  and  private  Interests. — The  last  con- 
dition, and  perhaps  the  most  important,  is  that  the  interests  of  the 
public,  and  of  property  owners  along  the  hue,  shall  be  thoroughly  pro- 
tected during  the  location,  construction  and  operation  of  the  rapid  transit 
roads.  Some  sacrifices  are  required  of  them,  and  they  must  suffer  some 
inconveniences  ;  the  public  must  give  the  right  of  way  upon  two,  or 
perhaps  eventually  four  Avenues  ;  the  dwellers  upon  them  must  take  the 
chance  of  some  annoyance  from  passing  trains,  and  the  property  owners, 
the  risk  of  a  possible  depreciation  of  their  property.  Of  course  in  this 
great  need,  private  interest  should  sometimes  give  way  to  public  neces- 
sities, and  receive  its  reward  by  taking  its  share  of  the  resulting  general 
benefits  ;  yet  even  the  prejudices  of  the  people  should  be  consulted,  and 
their  interests  carefully  protected.  At  every  stage  of  the  proceedings, 
in  the  selection  of  the  route,  in  the  planning  of  the  structure  for  each 
section  of  the  city,  in  the  carrying  on  of  the  work,  and  in  operating  the 
road,  care  must  be  taken  that  all  interests  be  carefully  protected,  and 
that  the  least  possible  injury  be  inflicted  upon  the  present  owners  and 
occupants  of  the  premises.  This  will  require  great  discretion,  tact  and 
judgment. 

Plans  Examined. 
Leaving  aside  for  the  present  any  differences  caused  by  the  various 
modes  of  propulsion  which  have  been  proposed,  the  character  of  tin- 
roads  which  have  been  brought  forward  for  rapid  transit  may  generally 
be  divided  into  three  classes, — designated  as  the  Underground,  the  De- 
pressed and  the  Elevated  Railroad  systems.  Your  committee  has  ex- 
amined plans  for  these  various  classes  as  follows  ;  a  synopsis  of  them 
has  been  prepared  by  your  Secretary : — 


For  Underground  Railways   IT  plans. 

"  Depressed  "   8 

"  Elevated  "    50  " 

It  would  occupy  so  much  space  to  discuss  each  of  them  in  the  body  of 
this  report  that  we  must  be  content  to  consider  them  merely  as  classes. 


*  Since  the  above  has  been  put  in  print,  the  committee  has  been  gratified  to  see  the  same 
recommendation  made  in  a  report  of  the  President  of  this  Road. 


11 


1st.  The  Underground  System. — This  system  was.  unfortunately, 
recommended  by  the  committee  of  the  New  York  Senate,  appointed  in 
1866.  The  apparent  financial  success  of  the  London  underground  rail- 
ways, had  probably,  then  much  to  do  with  this  recommendation,  and  it 
was,  perhaps,  made  without  sufficient  estimates  of  cost,  or  consideration 
of  the  differences  in  the  extent  of  lines  required  and  of  the  materials 
to  be  excavated  in  Xew  York  and  in  London. 

In  consequence  of  the  configuration  and  formation  of  the  city,  under- 
ground railways  in  Xew  York  must  be  located  upon  long  north  and  south 
lines,  excavated  largely  through  rock,  while  in  London  they  are  upon  an 
irregular  circle,  forming  a  belt  within  the  city,  and  excavated  through 
clay.  Since  the  report  of  that  committee,  three  charters  have  been  granted 
for  underground  railways  in  Xew  York,  careful  plans  and  estimates  have 
been  made  for  them,  and  they  have  been  considered  by  able  financiers, 
but  thus  far  not  a  single  one  of  them  has  been  able  to  secure  the  necessary 
capital.    The  following  objections  have  been  made  against  this  system  : 

1st.  That  roads  could  not  be  built  and  equipped  under  it  much  short 
of  two  or  three  millions  of  dollars  per  mile.  The  cost  of  the  Central 
Underground  Railway,  which  seems  to  have  been  very  carefully  worked 
out,  was  estimated  by  Messrs.  AY.  W.  Evans.  E.  S.  Chesbrough  and 
George  S.  Greene,  in  1869,  at  817  625  301  for  9  miles  of  road.  The  cost 
of  the  Arcade  Railway,  which  your  committee  considers  one  of  the  best 
designs  presented  for  an  underground  railway,  was  estimated  for  a  quad- 
ruple track  without  rolling  stock,  at  $2  096  950  per  mile.* 

2d.  That  it  would  during  its  construction  seriously  interfere  with  the 
present  surface  traffic  on  the  streets. 

3d.  That  it  would  require  expensive  and  inconvenient  alterations  of 
the  sewerage,  and  of  the  water  and  gas  pipes  of  the  city. 

4th.  That  at  many  points  it  would  be  below  high-water  mark,  and  the 
cost  of  artificial  drainage  would  add  materially  to  the  maintenance 
charges. 

5th.  That  the  ventilation  would  lie  difficult  and  expensive.  Serious 
trouble  already  exists  in  similar  tunnels  (although  much  shorter),  both  in 
this  vicinity  and  in  London.  The  use  of  locomotive  engines  would  make 
expensive  mechanical  ventilation  necessary. 

6th.  That  the  patronage  might  be  limited  by  the  unwillingness  of 


*  The  cost  of  the  Fourth  Avenue  improvement  of  the  Harlem  road,  which  is  partly  under- 
ground, partly  depressed  and  partly  elevated,  and  partly  a  surface  road,  is  understood  to  be 
about  $1  600  000  per  mile,  for  four  tracks,  but  ivithout  equipment. 


12 


many  persons  to  travel  in  tunnels,  and  the  operating  expenses  and  main- 
tenance be  greater  than  above  ground. 

2d.  The  Depressed  System. — This  mode  of  construction,  which  would 
more  properly  be  called  "the  way  through  the  Mocks."'  is  open  to  some 
of  the  objections  which  have  been  mentioned  in  regard  to  the  under- 
ground system;  while  it  is  exposed  to  other  objections  of  its  own.  which 
would  make  the  cost  of  building  as  great  as  the  underground. 

1st.  As  there  is  no  street  but  the  Boulevard  and  Fourth  avenue  wide 
enough  to  permit  of  the  building  of  a  depressed  road  in  its  centre,  with- 
out rendering  the  remainder  useless,  the  right  of  way  upon  any 
other  lines  must  be  purchased  through  the  blocks,  and  veal  estate  charges 
would  overbalance  the  cost  of  arching  which  this  system  saves.  Upon  a 
line  most  judiciously  chosen  for  its  cheapness,  Mr.  John  Schuyler  esti- 
mates the  right  of  way  at  $500  000  per  mile.    It  might  be  much  greater. 

2d.  The  time  required  to  acquire  the  real  estate,  and  to  settle  claims 
for  damage  to  adjoining  property,  would  greatly  delay  the  completion  of 
the  road,  and  would  load  it  with  a  heavy  charge  of  accumulated  interest, 
before  its  earnings  could  begin. 

Your  committee,  while  they  cannot  recommend  the  adoption  of  this  sys- 
tem as  applied  to  the  existing  city  of  New  York,  wish  to  commend  the 
plans  and  designs  of  Mr.  Schuyler  as  being  most  carefully  considered 
and  elaborated. 

3d.  The  Elevated  System.— If  properly  located  and  designed,  this 
is  the  cheapest  system.  It  is  free  from  difficulties  of  ventilation  or  drain- 
age, from  any  obstructions  by  snow,  or  interference  with  sewers  or  pipes. 
It  involves  far  fewer  contingencies  than  the  other  systems,  and  the  cost 
may  be  estimated  beforehand  with  reasonable  accuracy.  The  principal 
objections  urged  against  it  are  the  following: 

1st.  That  if  built,  as  once  proposed,  of  masonry,  it  would  be  nearly  as 
expensive  as  an  underground  road,  and  by  obstructing  light  and  ventila- 
tion, would  seriously  injure  adjoining  property. 

2d.  That  if  built  of  iron,  it  would  be  deficient  in  stability  and  perma- 
nence. 

3d.  That  there  would  be  great  danger  to  passengers  in  case  of  a  derail- 
ment. 

4th.  The  anticipated  injury  and  damage  to  the  value  of  real  estate 
along  the  line  of  the  road. 

5th.  The  invasion  of  privacy  and  annoyance  to  the  occupants  of 
buildings  along  the  line. 


13 


6th.  The  frightening  of  horses  in  the  street  below  the  road. 

7th.  The  interference  of  the  supports,  if  located  in  the  roadway,  with 
the  street  traffic. 

8th.  The  general  unsightliness  of  such  structures. 

Your  committee,  while  fully  recognizing  the  validity  and  weight  of 
many  of  these  objections,  is  of  the  opinion  that  they  are  more  than 
balanced  by  those  which  exist  against  the  underground  and  the  de- 
pressed systems,  and  that  the  saving  of  first  cost  is  so  essential  a  matter, 
that  some  form  of  elevated  railway  should  be  made  the  leading  feature 
of  rapid  transit  roads  in  most  parts  of  the  city. 

As  the  committee  recommends  the  adoption  of  some  form  of  elevated 
railroad,  it  will  be  expected  to  express  its  views  upon  each  of  the  above 
objections.    The  following  are  the  opinions  of  its  members  : 

1st.  Masonry  'Viaduct. — The  road  should  not  be  built  of  masonry, 
except  possibly  on  those  portions  which  will  be  through  the  blocks  in 
passing  from  the  line  of  one  street  to  another.  It  should  generally  be 
an  iron  skeleton  structure. 

2d.  Want  of  Stability. — There  is  no  warrant  whatever  for  any 
supposed  lack  of  stability  and  permanence  in  a  well  designed  iron  struc- 
ture. Iron  bridges  and  trestles  are  built  every  day  on  our  railroads, 
exposed  to  much  greater  loads  and  vibrations  than  those  which  will  ever 
be  imposed  upon  an  elevated  railroad. 

3c?.  Danger  to  Passengers. — This  must  be  guarded  against  by  the 
system  of  construction  of  the  road  and  rolling  stock,  and  safety  appli- 
ances on  the  cars.  It  involves  very  careful  examination  and  design,  but 
we  are  satisfied  that  serious  accidents  may  be  rendered  almost  impos- 
sible. The  New  York  Elevated  Kailroad,  with  a  confessedly  inferior 
construction,  has  now  been  in  operation  three  years  and  seven  months, 
and  has  carried  about  1  800  000  passengers,  without  injuring  any  of  them 
in  any  way. 

\th.  Injury  to  Real  Estate. — Your  committee  freely  confesses  that 
it  does  not  know  what  the  effect  of  a  successful  rapid  transit  elevated 
railroad  will  be  upon  the  values  of  real  estate  along  its  line.  Many 
gentlemen  who  have  been  consulted,  believe  that  the  large  volume 
of  travel  coming  to  and  going  from  the  route  of  an  efficient  elevated 
road,  will  add  largely  to  the  value  of  the  land  along  its  line.  Others 
again,  believe  that  the  annoyance  to  the  adjoining  property  owners  will 
diminish  the  value  of  their  property.  To  be  satisfied  upon  this  point, 
your  committee  issued  some  1  200  circulars  to  the  occupants  and  owners 


14 


of  property  on  the  line  of  the  New  York  Elevated  Railroad,  and  had  one 
loft  at  every  house,  both  on  Greenwich  street  and  on  Ninth  avenue.  To 
these  1  200  circulars,  only  68  replies  were  received  of  which  37  were 
from  owners,  and  the  remaining  31  from  tenants,  34  from  occupants  of 
whole  buildings,  2('>  from  occupants  of  part  of  buildings,  and  8  from 
non-resident  owners;  53  from  Greenwich  street,  and  15  from  Ninth 
avenue  ;  2S  from  bouses  occupied  for  business  purposes,  14  from  resi- 
dences, and  25  from  the  two  combined.  The  time  of  such  occupation 
ranges  from  six  months  to  fifty-two  years.  The  opinions  expressed 
are  as  follows  :  5  persons  consider  the  road  a  benefit  to  the  property 
they  own  or  occupy,  53  think  it  an  injury,  and  10  have  no  opinion. 
One  person  thinks  the  road  has  increased  the  value  of  property,  50 
believe  that  property  has  diminished  in  value  from  5  to  40  per  cent. ,  4 
persons  are  in  favor  of  retaining  the  road,  on  the  ground  that  property 
would  diminish  in  value  upon  its  removal,  52  think  that  its  removal 
would  increase  the  value  of  adjoining  property  from  5  to  40  per  cent 

In  considering  the  answers  that  the  circular  elicited,  it  should  be  borne 
in  mind  that  these  were  given  at  a  period  of  general  business  depression, 
that  only  68  replies  were  received  to  some  1  200  circulars,  and  that 
those  persons  having  grievances,  or  who  have  been  most  injuriously  af- 
fected, would  be  most  likely  to  take  the  pains  to  answer.  As  the  New 
York  Elevated  Railroad  does  as  yet  but  a  small  business,  it  is  still  a 
matter  of  judgment  how  a  successful  rapid  transit  road  will  affect  the 
values  of  property  along  its  line.  Opinions  of  this  class,  expressed  in 
the  early  days  of  railroads,  have  so  often  been  disproved  by  facts,  that 
they  should  be  received  with  caution.  It  seems  reasonable  to  believe 
that  down-town  values  along  the  lines  of  the  future  elevated  railroads 
will  not  be  seriously  diminished,  while  up-town  values  will  be  largely  in- 
creased. 

5th.  Invasion  of  Privacy. — Your  committee  fully  admits  the  validity 
of  this  objection.  It  is  part  of  the  price  which  must  be  paid  for  rapid 
transit.  The  people  of  the  city  of  New  York  must  devote  certain  streets 
to  this  object,  and  the  structures  must  be  so  designed  as  to  inflict  the  least 
possible  injury.  It  may  be  found  in  practice  that  the  fears  entertained  on 
this  subject  are  exaggerated.  Since  beginning  this  investigation,  one  of 
the  committee  has  purposely  occupied  rooms  with  windows  fronting 
upon,  and  on  the  sime  side  of  the  street  with  the  New  York  Elevated 
Railroad,  and  finds  no  annoyance  from  the  noise,  smoke,  steam  or  other 
causes. 


15 


6th.  Frightening  of  Horse*. — As  to  the  frightening  of  horses,  ex- 
perience along  the  present  Elevated  Railroad  shows  that  this  appre- 
hension also  is  greatly  exaggerated.  Very  few  horses  seem  to  be  in  any 
way  alarmed  at  the  trains,  and  this,  and  similar  experience  about  railroad 
depots,  shows  how  soon  horses  become  accustomed  to  the  noise  and  ap- 
pearance of  trains,  and  exhibit  common  sense  by  paying  no  attention  to 
them.  It  might  not  be  safe  to  drive  along  the  lines,  spirited  animals 
kept  for  pleasure  purposes,  but  driving  of  this  class  is  already  confined 
to  a  very  few  streets,  and  those  are  streets  which  would  never  be  selected 
for  elevated  railways. 

7th.  Interference  with  Vehicles. — The  committee  also  admits  the 
validity  of  the  objection  that  the  supports  will  interfere  somewhat  with 
the  surface  traffic.  When  placed  on  the  edge  of  the  sidewalk,  however, 
the  posts  have  been  found  almost  no  obstruction  to  the  other  uses  of  the 
street.  Where  they  are  to  be  placed  in  the  roadway,  it  is  believed  that 
they  can  be  so  judiciously  located  as  to  form  no  serious  obstacles. 

8th.  Uhsightliness. — As  to  the  probable  unsightliness  of  the  structure, 
the  committee  agrees  with  the  public.  No  structure  for  rapid  transit  can 
be  made  ornamental  in  the  purely  artistic  sense  of  that  word.  Its  long 
straight  lines  w  ill  not  admit  of  much  architectural  effect.  It  will  be  use- 
ful, and  it  need  not  be  hideously  ugly.  The  engineer  should  endeavor  by 
tasteful  design  and  appropriate  ornamentation  to  give  the  structure 
as  pleasing  an  appearance  as  possible,  so  that  it  need  not  mar  the  appear- 
ance of  the  city  us  much  as  some  of  the  buildings  which  have  been 
erected  by  public  or  private  enterprise. 

Character  of  Structure. 
The  efforts  of  the  promoters  of  rapid  transit  schemes  seem  hitherto 
to  have  been  directed  to  the  design  of  new  and  unheard-of  structures, 
whose  novelty  they  could  readily  patent,  and  which  they  proposed 
to  build  continuously  over  the  whole  line,  regardless  of  local  cir- 
cumstances. The  larger  part  of  the  labors  of  your  committee  has 
consisted  in  the  examination  of  such  schemes.  It  examined  proposals 
to  locate  the  elevated  roads"  near  the  tops  of  the  houses,  or  through 
the  blocks,  or  over  the  streets,  and  to  construct  them  either  as  masonry 
viaducts,  or  as  a  series  of  iron  bridges.  All  sorts  of  plans  have  been  pro- 
posed for  construction  and  for  operation.  A  comparative  examination 
of  the  cost  of  each  plan  has  convinced  your  committee  that  the  only 
class  of  elevated  road  likely  to  prove  profitable  is  an  iron  structure,  1G 
to  25  feet  high,  built  over  streets,  the  right  of  way  being  free,  and 
the  line  being  operated  by  light  locomotives. 


16 


It  is,  however,  a  serious  mistake  to  propose  a  single  plan,  to  be 
applied  and  carried  out  alike  in  all  parts  of  the  city.  This  is  imprac- 
ticable. A  really  successful  rapid  transit  road  must  extend  from  the 
Battery  to  the  Harlem  river,  and,  eventually,  much  beyond.  Xo  one 
plan  can  apply  equally  well  to  all  parts  of  so  extended  a  location. 
The  roads  should  conform,  not  only  to  the  topography  of  the  island, 
but  also  to  the  local  requirements  in  each  part  of  the  city.  At  certain 
points  they  may  be  in  tunnels,  either  to  secure  practicable  gradients  or  to 
avoid  annoyance  to  the  public,  at  others  they  may  go  through  the  blocks, 
in  open  cuttings  or  on  a  masonry  viaduct,  Avhile  in  the  unsettled  districts 
in  the  upper  part  of  the  island,  and  beyond  Harlem  river,  they  may  even 
be  surface  roads,  and  remain  so  until  advancing  population  require  them 
to  be  raised  out  of  the  way  of  the  ordinary  street  traffic.  For  the  greater 
part  of  the  way  they  will  probably  consist  of  some  form  of  elevated  road, 
located  over  the  streets,  but  this  should  vary  in  character  with  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  neighborhood.  It  may  even  be  of  wood  for  a  time, 
and  thus  save  present  expense,  over  such  sections  as  are  likely  to  deve- 
lope  new  requirements  with  advancing  population.  It  is  natural  and 
proper  that  this  part  of  the  design  should  receive  the  most  attention,  but 
it  is  perhaps  because  designers  have  hitherto  presented  but  a  single 
plan,  that  they  have  met  with  so  much  opposition  from  adjoining  prop- 
erty owners  and  existing  interests,  and  have  so  often  failed  to  obtain 
the  necessary  legislative  sanction. 

The  public  is  chiefly  responsible  for  this  error.  It  has  expected 
and  demanded  the  submission  of  a  single  plan,  which  could  be  understood 
upon  cursory  examination,  so  that  Civil  Engineers,  as  a  rule,  who  saw 
the  many  elements  of  the  problem,  have  hitherto  held  aloof  from  pre- 
senting any  original  design.  Of  the  75  plans  or  schemes  examined  by 
your  committee,  but  24  were  offered  by  Civil  Engineers, and  but  10  by 
members  of  the  Society.  Of  the  latter,  two  exhibited  plans  only  at 
the  particular  request  of  the  committee,  and  explained  that  these  had 
been  made  for  particular  locations  in  the  extension  of  the  New  York 
Elevated  Railroad. 

The  fact  is  that  in  this,  us  well  as  in  most  engineering  works,  there  is 
no  one  best  plan  to  be  applied  everywhere  and  under  all  circumstances. 
There  must  be  an  adaptation  of  means  to  ends.  The  ills  that  the 
public  of  New  York  are  suffering,  cannot  be  satisfactorily  remedied  by 
any  one  patent  plan. 

Nor  do  we  believe  that  complete  plans  can  be  made  without  the  con- 


17 


currence  and  advice  of  the  capital  which  is  to  build  the  work.  On  lines 
covering  many  miles  in  extent,  there  will  be  many  alternatives  ;  as  careful 
surveys  and  examinations  bring  out  fresh  facts,  the  relative  merits  of 
routes  and  plans  must  be  weighed,  and  a  decision  made  in  the  light  of 
the  estimates  and  necessities  of  location.  To  do  this  economically,  re- 
quires the  concurrence  and  control  of  capital,  and  that  care  which  springs 
only  from  personal  interest. 

We  believe  that  varied  plans  must  be  made,  that  the  designs  must 
conform  to  local  requirements  and  circumstances  in  each  part  of  the  city, 
so  as  to  inflict  the  least  possible  damage  and  annoyance,  and  above  all, 
that  the  plans  must  be  selected  by  the  capital  which  is  invited  to  carry 
them  out,  and  approved  by  a  competent  board  of  commissioners. 

The  most  that  your  committee  can  do  is  to  indicate  what  special  plans 
seem  best  adapted  to  special  localities.  Even  in  this  it  does  not  wish  to 
be  understood  as  giving  them  an  unqualified  approval.  There  is  not  a 
single  member  of  your  committee  who  is  sufficiently  satisfied  with  the 
cursory  examination  which  the  time  assigned  for  this  investigation  has 
allowed  him  to  give  to  the  subject,  to  decide  positively  that  he  would 
adopt  any  one  of  the  designs  examined,  and  no  other,  if  the  responsi- 
bility were  placed  upon  him  of  building  a  system  of  rapid  transit  roads 
for  the  city  of  New  York. 

Eolling  Weights  to  be  Carbied. 

The  leading  elements  of  the  cost  of  an  elevated  road,  are  :  first,  the 
rolling  weights  to  be  provided  for  ;  and  second,  the  position  to  be  oc- 
cupied in  the  street. 

The  strength  of  the  structure  must  vary  with  the  weights  to  be  carried, 
so  that  the  cost  will  largely  depend  upon  the  character  of  the  rolling- 
stock.  It  will  be  seen  by  the  table  of  weight  of  trains  given  on  page  23, 
that  while  ordinary  railroad  trains  impose  a  weight  of  2  666  pounds 
per  lineal  foot  over  a  span  30  feet  in  length,  a  train,  such  as  in  the 
judgment  of  the  committee  is  best  adapted  for  rapid  transit  roads,  will 
impose  a  weight  of  600  pounds  per  lineal  foot  over  the  saine"space  of  30 
feet.  This  load,  however,  is  concentrated  at  the  points  of  contact  of 
the  wheels,  and  exerts  greater  strains  than  if  uniformly  distributed  over 
the  whole  distance.  In  view  of  this  fact,  and  of  the  apparently  almost 
irresistible  tendency  to  increase  the  weight  of  cars  and  engines,  as  ad- 
ditions are  made  from  time  to  time  to  the  rolling  stock,  the  committee 
recommends  that  a  rolling-load  of  1  200  pounds  per  lineal  foot  of  each 
3 


18 


track  bo  assumed  in  designing  elevated  railroads,  and  that  the  factor  of 
safety  shall  be  from  5  to  6,  according  to  local  circumstances. 

Position  in  the  Street. 

It  appears  to  your  committee  that  the  great  advantages  for  cheap  con- 
struction offered  by  narrow  streets  lias  not  been  sufficiently  recognized. 
Those  running  north  and  south,  near  Broadway,  such  as  Greene  and 
Church  on  the  west  side,  and  Mulberry,  Marion,  Centre  and  Nassau  on 
the  east  side,  are  mostly  business  streets,  or  inferior  residence  streets. 
An  elevated  railroad  through  them  would  injure  property  but  little,  if  at 
all,  while  the  circumstances  are  most  favorable  for  the  economical  con- 
struction of  a  double,  triple  or  at  some  points  quadruple  track  railroad 
trestle  bridge  over  them.  The  supporting  iron  columns  should  be 
placed  just  inside  the  curb  line,  and  they  should  be  surmounted  by  ordi- 
nary lattice  girders,  so  arranged  as  to  shade  the  street  as  little  as  pos- 
sible. If  the  columns  be  located  in  this  way,  the  plan  presented  by 
Messrs.  Buel  seems  to  your  committee  best  adapted  to  fulfill  the  various 
requirements  of  such  a  location,  in  streets  about  20  feet  wide  between 
curbs.  It  is  estimated  by  them  to  cost  $450  000  'per  mile,  this  being 
predicated  however  upon  an  assumed  rolling  load  of  1  500  pounds  per 
foot  of  track.  If  the  weight  of  the  engines  and  cars  be  reduced,  so  as  to 
require  an  assumed  rolling  load  of  but  1  200  pounds  per  foot,  as  recom- 
mended by  your  committee^  the  cost  will  be  somewhat  lessened. 

For  streets  about  30  feet  between  curbs,  a  modification  of  the  system 
of  cross  and  longitudinal  girders,  proposed  by  Mr.  D.  A.  Morris,  would 
be  found  economical.  The  committee,  however,  cannot  approve  the  ex- 
tensive use  of  cast-iron,  exposed  to  transverse  strains,  which  he  proposes, 
and  while  it  would  call  attention  to  the  ingenuity  of  his  plans  of  track 
and  rolling  stock,  it  does  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  endorsing  them, 
nor  vouching  for  the  correctness  of  his  estimates  of  cost. 

The  great  obstacle  to  cheap  rapid  transit  lies  in  the  avenues.  Their 
great  width,  60  feet  between  curbs,  which  is  so  convenient  for  surface 
traffic,  adds  enormously  to  the  cost  of  constructing  a  road  over  the  centre 
of  the  street,  if  support  must  be  taken  at  tin1  curbstone  In  them  there 
are  two  possible  locations  for  an  elevated  road.  Either  the  tracks  may 
be  close  together  over  the  centre  of  the  roadway,  or  they  may  be  inde- 
pendent tracks  ;  one  on^each  side  of  the  street.  The  adoption  of  the  first 
alternative  involves  the  construction  of  a  double  set  of  bridges,  one  along 
the  street  to  carry  the  track,  and  the  other  across  the  street  to  support 


19 


the  first  set.  A  number  of  ingenious  plans  have  been  presented  to  us  to 
accomplish  this  object.  The  best  seems  to  be  that  of  Mr.  Richard  P. 
Morgan,  Jr. ,  which  is  estimated  by  him  to  cost  $520  000  per  mile  if 
built  to  cany  locomotives  weighing  six  tons,  and  $841  104  per  mile  if 
proportioned  for  the  ordinary  rolling  stock  of  our  surface  railroads.* 
As,  however,  these  estimates  are  based  upon  an  assumed  width  of  46 
feet  between  curbs  (that  of  Broadway),  they  will  have  to  be  materially 
increased  for  an  avenue.  If  the  estimates  of  revenue  and  operating 
expenses  made  by  your  committee  are  correct,  there  is  but  one  line 
which  can  afford  to  adopt  such  a  plan. 

We  would  call  attention  to  the  plans  presented  by  Mr.  Z.  S.  Durfee, 
for  a  double  track  railway  over  each  sidewalk  of  an  avenue,  as  well  as  to 
the  paper  accompanying  them.  His  suggestions  contain  some  valuable 
features,  but  are  likely  to  meet  with  great  opposition  from  some  of  the 
property  owners. 

If  the  alternative  of  two  independent  tracks,  one  on  each  side  of  the 
street,  be  preferred,  Mr.  C.  T.  Harvey  is  entitled  to  the  credit  of  having 
been  the  first, f  not  only  to  propose,  but  to  carry  out  such  a  system  of  con- 
struction on  the  New  York  Elevated  Railroad.  But  this  design,  of  single 
columns,  is  deficient  in  stability.  The  side  oscilations  are  too  great, 
and  the  assumed  rolling  load  too  small.  The  design  has  been  much 
improved  on  the  section  erected  above  Twenty-ninth  street,  and 
still  better  plans  have  been  shown  to  your  committee  by  Mr.  Charles 
Macdonald  and  Mr.  Samuel  H.  Shreve.  Both  these  gentlemen  propose 
clusters  of  four  small  columns,  differently  grouped,  and  occupying 
scarcely  more  space  on  the  sidewalk  than  the  single  columns  of  the 
original  plan.  Mr.  Macdonald  surmounts  his  columns  with  lattice  girders 
placed  under  the  rails,  and  provides  for  derailment  by  guard  beams 
placed  on  ties.  Mr.  Shreve  uses  plate  girders  placed  inside  the  line  of 
the  rails,  supporting  the  latter  upon  ties  which  pass  through  the  web  of 
the  girders,  and  provides  for  safety  by  placing  on  the  body  of  his  cars 
either  shoes  or  horizontal  wheels,  which  will  bind  against  the  girders  in 
case  of  a  derailment.    Both  these  gentlemen  estimate  the  cost  of  their 

*  It  has  boen  stated  to  the  committee  that  Mr.  Morgan  was  the  first  to  propose  the  building 
of  an  elevated  road  over  the  centre  of  the  street  and  the  use  of  locomotives  for  rapid  transit, 
and  that  he  is  fairly  entitled  to  the  credit  therefor.  After  a  revision  of  his  estimates  he  reduces 
the  above  amounts  to  $48G  000  and  $757  994  per  mile,  respectively. 

t  Since  the  above  was  written,  the  attention  of  the  committee  has  been  called  to  the  fact 
that  a  somewhat  similar  arrangement  was  suggested  by  Charles  Ellett,  Jr.,  in  1844,  and  is 
described  in  Gillespie's  Manual  of  Road-making,  pp.  314-315. 


( 


20 


structure  at  about  8125  000  per  mile  of  single  track,  or  8250  000  per 
mile  of  double-track  roads,  if  proportioned  for  the  cars  and  engines  o* 
the  New  York  Elevated  Railroad,  As  your  committee  believes  somewhat 
heavier  trains  may  come  into  use,  in  order  to  accommodate  the  volume  of 
business  needed  to  make  a  rapid  transit  road  profitable,  the  structures 
should  be  proportioned  for  loads  of  1  200  pounds  per  running  foot  of 
track,  and  without  stations,  appointments  or  rolling  stock,  will  then  cost 
from  $300  000  to  8350  000  per  mile  of  double  track 

This  location  over  the  edge  of  the  sidewalk  may  be  objected  to.  be- 
cause of  its  interference  with  the  privacy  of  the  houses  and  the  pre- 
judices of  the  public  against  a  road  apparently  so  frail.  In  reality  it  can 
be  made  as  safe  as  a  surface  road.  If  however,  it  be  determined  to  place 
the  two  tracks  over  the  centre  of  the  street,  there  remains  the  alternative 
of  placing  the  supporting  columns  in  the  roadway  of  the  street  between 
the  curbs.  This  is  proposed  by  Mr.  J.  B.  Church  and  by  the  Messrs.  Buel, 
and  although  at  first  sight  such  a  plan  would  seem  to  interfere  consider- 
ably with  the  surface  traffic,  and  to  endanger  passing  carriages  and 
runaway  teams,  these  difficulties  are  reduced  by  further  examination. 
It  is  not  thought  that  it  would  be  well  to  place  posts  in  the  roadway 
throughout  the  whole  length  of  an  avenue  :  the  surface  traffic  in  some 
parts  of  every  avenue  is  so  large,  or  the  property  so  valuable,  that 
support  must  be  taken  at  the  sidewalk  ;  but  in  many  portions  the  traffic- 
is  now,  and  is  likely  to  continue  so  small,  and  the  adjoining  buildings 
are  of  so  poor  a  character,  that  if  the  spans  be  made  about  50  feet  (not 
16  feet  as  proposed  in  some  charters  offered  at  the  last  session  of  the 
Legislature),  posts  within  the  roadway  are  not  likely  to  prove  a  serious 
annoyance. 

Whether  the  line  of  columns  should  be  spaced  about  20  feet  apart,  so 
as  to  divide  the  carriage  way  into  three  equal  portions,  each  wide  enough 
for  two  carriages  (the  present  horse  railroad  tracks  occupying  the  centre 
span),  or  whether  the  posts  should  be  spaced  about  10  feet  apart,  with  a 
footwalk  between  them,  so  as  to  leave  a  wide  space  on  each  side  for  car- 
riages, your  committee  cannot  now  determine.  It  recommends  that  the 
question  be  discussed  by  the  Society,  and  that  experiments  be  made  to 
determine  practically  the  objection  to  either  arrangement.  The  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  placing  posts  in  the  roadway,  to  carry  an  elevated  road 
over  the  centre  of  an  avenue,  is  the  single  one  of  economy,  as  it  will  cost 
twice  as  much  if  the  support  is  taken  from  the  edge  of  the  curb,  as  it  will 
if  the  posts  are  placed  in  the  carriage  way.    In  the  latter  case,  a  double 


21 


track  road  can  be  built  for  $300  000  a  mile  on  an  assumed  rolling  load 
of  1  200  pounds  per  lineal  foot  of  track,  and  ^elusive  of  stations  or 
equipment. 

Whether  rapid  transit  roads  are  practicable  as  paying  investments 
may  largely  depend  upon  the  determination  of  this  question. 

In  any  case,  however,  if  posts  are  placed  in  the  roadway  of  the 
streets,  the  surface  traffic  will  be  much  facilitated  by  the  simple  police 
regulation  that  vehicles  proceeding  rapidly  shall  hug  the  line  of  the 
posts,  and  that  those  proceeding  slowly  shall  hug  the  sidewalk. 

A  number  of  single-rail  plans  have  been  submitted  to  your  com- 
mittee, in  which  it  is  proposed  to  support  the  rolling  stock  from  a 
girder,  carried  on  a  single  line  of  posts  located  at  the  edge  of  the  side, 
walk.  Of  these,  the  plans  of  Mr.  Boy  Stone  and  of  Mr.  T.  D.  Davis  are 
the  best  and  most  carefully  worked  out.  They  offer  the  advantage  of 
cheapness  in  the  construction  of  the  roadway,  which,  ivpon  this  system, 
would  cost  from  $175  000  to  S200  000  per  mile  of  double  track  ;  but  this 
would  partly  be  counterbalanced  by  the  increased  cost  of  the  rolling- 
stock,  which,  if  in  sufficient  quantity  to  accommodate  the  volume  of 
traffic  required  to  make  the  road  pay,  would  probably  cost  as  much  as 
the  roadway. 

The  mechanical  difficulties  involved  in  designing  cars  and  engines 
upon  this  system,  which  has  not  inaptly  been  called  the  <;  saddle-bag 
plan,"  and  in  working  them  over  switches,  around  curves,  and  under 
conditions  of  unequal  loading  or  of  strong  side  winds,  seem  to  your 
committee  so  serious  that  it  has  little  hope  of  their  being  successfnlly 
overcome. 

Rolling  Stock. 

The  character  of  the  rolling  stock,  as  has  already  been  remarked, 
is  a  matter  of  very  great  importance  in  the  construction  of  a  rapid 
transit  railroad,  the  pecuniary  success  of  which  is.  to  a  very  great 
extent,  dependent  upon  the  design  and  construction  of  the  locomotives 
and  cars.  Among  the  primary  conditions  which  a  rapid  transit  road 
must  fulfill,  is  that  passengers  should  be  carried  at  frequent  intervals  of 
time.  The  length  of  these  intervals  will  of  necessity  be  in  proportion 
to  the  number  of  passengers  that  can  be  carried  in  each  train,  or.  in 
other  words,  to  the  size  of  the  trains. 

The  celerity  with  which  small  cars  may  be  loaded  and  unloaded,  and 
the  facility  of  handling  light  trains  has  already  been  referred  to.  By 
their  use,  the  dead  weight  carried  may  be  very  much  reduced.  Heavy 


22 


trains  require  more  power  to  start  and  stop  them;  more  powerful  engines 
arc  therefore  needed,  and  the  ears  are  consequently  subjected  to 
much  greater  strains.  The  cars  must  ho  made  stronger,  and  conse- 
quently heavier,  which  reacts  on  the  difficulty  of  starting  and  stopping 
them,  thus  making  a  still  greater  increase  of  engine  power  necessary. 
An  ordinary  passenger  car  which  lias  seats  for  60  passengers,  is  48  feet 
long  and  weighs  36  100  pounds,  or  GOO  pounds  per  passenger.  The  cars 
used  on  the  New  York  Elevated  Railroad  have  seats  for -48  passengers, 
are  33  feet  6  inches  long,  and  weigh  11  200  pounds,  or  233  pounds 
per  passenger.  The  dead  weight  per  passenger  of  the  latter,  it  will 
therefore  be  seen,  is  very  much  less  than  with  the  ordinary  cars. 

The  weight  of  locomotives  usually  used  for  ordinary  passenger  trains, 
with  that  of  the  tender,  is  100  000  pounds.  The  maximum  load  on  any 
one  wheel  is  10  000  pounds.  On  the  New  York  Elevated  Railroad 
small  four-wheeled  engines  are  employed.  Their  weight  is  10  600 
pounds,  with  a  maximum  load  of  2  650  pounds  per  wheel.  The  weight, 
length,  &c,  of  these  trains  are  represented  in  the  following  table. 


Train. 

,T.lta.  Lensth  of 

Wheel  Base.     I               th  Pas- 

Wg't  per  Passg'r , 

of  Cars 
aud  Locomotive. 

Maximum  Wg't 
per  Wheel. 

Ordinary  

N.  Y.  Elevated.. . . 

372  ft.    2  in.           372  400  lbs. 
125  ft.    9  in.            Go  800  " 

1  034  lbs. 
457  " 

10  000  lbs. 

2  650  " 

A  comparison  of  the  above  figures  shows  the  very  great  difference  in 
the  weight  per  passenger  of  the  different  trains.  This  difference  is  of 
importance  in  two  ways:  first,  the  actual  expense  of  hauling  the  non- 
paying  weight  is  considerable;  second,  the  increased  weight  of  train 
makes  heavier  engines  necessary,  which  increases  the  wear  of  the  track 
very  largely. 

The  expenses  of  operating,  which  will  be  diminished  if  the  amount  of 
dead  weight  of  train  is  reduced,  will  be  the  following  ;  locomotive  re- 
pairs, including  cleaning,  fuel  for  locomotive,  oil  and  waste  for  same, 
water  supply,  general  expense  for  locomotive  shops,  car  repairs^  oil  and 
waste  used  for  cars,  road  repairs. 

If  an  elevated  railroad  is  built,  the  weight  of  the  rolling-stock  be- 
com  >s  of  the  utmost  importance,  as  the  strength  and,  to  a  very  great  ex- 
tent, the  cost  of  the  struct;!  -e  is  directly  dependent  upon  the  weight 
which  it  must  carry.  The  weight  which  different  trains  will  impose  on 
different  spans  of  ail  elevated  road,  say  of  30,  40,  50  and  60  feet,  is  given 


23 


in  the  following  table,  and  also  the  weight  reduced  to  pounds  per  foot  of 
each  span.  The  weight  which  the  ordinary  cars  alone,  without  the 
locomotive,  would  bring  on  each  of  the  spans  is  also  given. 


Load  Imposed  ky  Trains  on  different  Spans. 


TllAINS. 

30  ft.  Span. 

40  ft.  Span. 

50  ft.  Span. 

60  ft.  Span. 

"be  a 
>  5 

g§ 

Total  wg't 
per  ft.  | 
on  Span . 

Total  wg't 
on  Span. 

Total  wg't 
per  ft. 
on  Span. 

'tr  a 
*  5 

3? 
H  ° 

Total  wg't 

per  It. 
OU  Span. 

m  a 
"  a, 

3 - 

H  ° 

Total  wg't 

per  ft. 
!  on  Span. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Ordinary  

BO  000 

2  066 

91  350 

2  284 

102  700 

2  054 

122  700 

2  045 

Cars  alone  

45  400 

1  513 

45  400 

1  135 

45  400 

908 

56  750 

946 

N.  Y.  Elevated  

19  800 

660 

23  000 

575 

32  200 

644 

38  200 

633 

18  000 

600 

22  500 

562 

27  000 

540 

36  000 

600 

Of  course,  as  the  loads  are  concentrated  in  a  few  points  of  the  span, 
the  strain  to  which  a  girder  would  he  subjected  would  be  greater  than  if 
the  load  were  equally  distributed.  These  strains  may,  however,  be  easily 
computed.  This  is  not  necessary  now,  as  at  present  it  is  only  intended 
to  show  the  loads  to  which  the  structure  would  be  subjected  by  each 
train. 

From  the  table  it  will  be  seen  that  with  the  ordinary  engine  and  train 
the  maximum  loads  on  any  of  the  spans  will  be  2  666  pounds  per  foot. 
With  the  cars  alone,  the  maximum  load  will  be  1  513  pounds,  and  with  the 
Xew  York  Elevated  train  it  will  be  660  pounds.  It  is  obvious,  then,  that 
the  structure  of  an  elevated  road  to  carry  the  heavier  cars  ami  engine 
must  be  built  to  sustain  a  load  about  four  times  as  great  as  that  to 
which  it  would  be  subjected  by  the  New  York  Elevated  train.  Con- 
sidered then,  simply  as  a  question  of  cost,  it  is  obvious  that  if  light  traius 
and  rolling  stock  are  used  on  such  a  road,  that  it  will  cost  very  much  less 
than  if  a  heavier  class  of  cars  and  engines  are  employed. 

For  these  reasons  and  also  on  account  of  the  reduced  cost  of  running, 
the  advantages  of  using  light  rolling  stock  for  any  rapid  transit  road,  but 
especially  for  an  elevated  railroad,  arc  apparent.  As  already  stated,  the 
weight  per  passenger  of  the  cars  in  use  on  the  Elevated  Railroad  is 
less  than  that  of  any  employed  on  any  steam  railroad  in  the  country,  if  we 
except  perhaps  some  ordinary  horse  cars  which  are  hauled  by  engines.  It  is 
therefore  recommended  that  the  cars  for  a  rapid  transit  road  be  made  sim- 
ilar to  those  in  use  on  the  Elevated  Railroad.  It  is  thought,  however, 
that  the  advantages  which  are  gained  by  depressing  .the  car  body  between 


24 


the  trucks,  so  as  to  bring  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the  car  lower,  do  not 
compensate  for  the  additional  weight  which  is  thus  added  to  the  car,  and 
for  the  reduction  of  the  strength  of  the  ear  body,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
it  is  then  impossible  to  extend  the  centre  floor  timbers  through  the  whole 
length  of  the  ear  body  from  one  end  to  the  other.  The  use  of  similar  cars 
but  without  the  depression  referred  to,  is  therefore  recommended  ;  the  cars 
to  be  arranged  so  that  the  centre  of  gravity  is  still  kept  as  low  as  possible. 
This  can  be  done  by  allowing  the  wheels  to  run  up  under  the  seats  in  the 
same  way  that  they  do  in  ordinary  horse  ears.  The  weight  of  such  ears 
to  seat  passengers  would  be  only  be  10  800  pounds,  or  225  pounds  per 
passenger,  and  as  will  be  seen  in  the  preceding  table,  the  weight  per  foot 
will  not  exceed  (500  pounds  in  any  of  the  spans.  Perhaps  a  shorter  car, 
with  but  four  wheels,  m  ight  be  found  even  more  desirable. 

By  placing  the  doors  of  such  cars  in  the  sides,  the  exit  and  entrance  of 
passengers  would  undoubtedly  be  facilitated.  If  the  tracks  of  a  road  for 
rapid  transit  are  arranged  so  that  the  cars  would  run  in  a  continuous  cir- 
cuit, that  is  with  the  same  end  in  front  all  the  time  and  not  alternately 
backward  and  forward,  then  the  doors  would  be  required  on  only  one  side 
of  the  cars.  To  guard  against  accidents,  it  will  be  advisable  to  provide 
for  double  sets  of  doors,  one  under  the  control  of  the  passengers,  and  the 
other  under  that  of  the  train  hands. 

The  seats  could  be  arranged  either  lengthwise  of  the  car  so  as  to  facili- 
tate the  ingress  and  egress  of  passengers,  or  they  could  be  placed  cross- 
wise and  the  cars  divided  into  seperate  compartments  with  doors  in  each, 
as  in  European  cars.  The  seats  should  be  divided  from  each  other  by  low 
divisions  arranged  not  to  be  an  inconvenience  to  passengers,  and  thus 
prevent  the  indecent  crowding  of  one  person  against  another,  which  is 
now  so  common  in  nearly  all  public  vehicles. 

The  capacity  of  the  cars  may  be  materially  increased  by  providing 
seats  on  the  roof.  This  will  somewhat  increase  the  rolling  loads  to  be 
provided  for.  but  can  be  made  of  great  service  to  the  working  classes,  by 
charging  only  half  fare  for  such  seats.  They  may  be  protected  from  the 
weather  by  an  awning,  or  even  inclosed  with  sides,  so  as  to  make  the  cars 
two  stories  in  height. 

The  wheels  of  the  cars  should  be  fitted  with  steel  tires,  so  that  they 
may  be  turned  off  perfectly  true  and  of  the  same  diameter,  in  order  to 
make  the  running  of  them  as  smooth  as  possible.  By  making  their  disks 
of  wood  or  of  paper,  introducing  elastic  bearings  under  the  rails,  and 
securing  perfect  fittings  and  springs,  the  trains  can  be  made  nearly 
noiseless.    They  certainly  will  not  be  heard  as  far  as  an  omnibus. 


25 


Locomotives  similar  to  those  in  use  on  the  line  referred  to,  but  about 
1  600  pounds  lighter,  and  with  some  slight  improvements  in  design  and  of 
better  construction,  will,  it  is  believed,  answer  all  the  requirements  of  a 
rapid  transit  railroad  better  than  any  other  class  of  locomotive  now  in  use. 
Experience  will,  doubtless,  indicate  some  modifications  in  the  motive 
power  ;  but  suggestions  from  that  source  will,  it  is  believed,  be  much 
more  reliable  than  any  deductions  the  committee  may  make. 

The  running  of  the  trains  will  be  much  facilitated  by  placing  the 
stations  on  summits,  so  as  to  utilize  the  force  of  gravity,  both  in  stop- 
ping and  starting  them.  For  this  purpose,  grades  as  steep  as  100  feet  per 
mile  may  be  employed,  preferably  arranged  in  the  form  of  vertical 
curves.  They  may  be  located  on  the  main  line  at  stations  where  all 
trains  are  to  stop,  or  on  side  tracks  forming  a  loop  line  as  proposed  in 
the  plans  of  Mr.  C.  W.  Hunt,  at  stations  where  only  part  of  the  trains 
stop. 

The  question  of  the  maximum  capacity  of  such  a  railroad  for  carrying 
passengers  during  certain  hours  of  the  day  is,  however,  an  important  one. 
This  capacity  may  be  limited  by  the  number  of  trains  which  can  be  run 
during  that  time,  and.  consequently,  by  the  size  of  the  trains,  so  that  it 
might  be  desirable  to  increase  the  number  of  cars  on  each  train  during 
the  morning  and  evening.  Without  accurate  surveys,  or  without  having 
the  route  definitely  determined,  it  is  impossible  to  tell  what  the  maximum 
grades  will  be,  which  must  be  encountered.  On  the  assumption  that  the 
steepest  grade  will  be  80  feet  per  mile,  and  that  the  resistance  of  a  train  will 
be  40  pounds  per  ton  (of  2  000  pounds),  the  total  resistance  of  the  proposed 
train  of  three  cars  and  the  locomotive  would  be  1  260  pounds.  Assuming 
the  adhesion  of  the  engine  to  be  one-sixth  of  the  weight  on  the  driving 
wheels,  an  adhesive  weight  of  <PH^  pounds  will  be  needed,  so  that  a  four- 
wheeled  engine,  with  all  its  weight  on  its  four  wheels,  and  weighing  9  000 
pounds,  will  give  abundant  adhesion  for  the  load  to  be  hauled.  From 
the  Table  previously  given,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  weight  of  the 
train  composed  of  such  cars  and  engines  as  have  been  proposed,  will 
not  exceed  600  pounds  per  running  foot.  If,  however,  it  should  be 
found  desirable  to  increase  the  number  of  cars  in  the  train  to  five  or 
six.  so  that  its  weight  would  be  from  50  to  60  tons,  then  the  proposed 
engine  would  not  have  sufficient  adhesion  or  steam  producing  power. 
The  requisite  power  could  very  easily  be  provided  by  simply  increasing 
the  size  and  weight  of  the  engines.  If  this  is  done,  however,  a  greater  load 
will  be  concentrated  on  each  of  the  spans  of  the  structure  of  an  elevated 


26 


road  as  the  train  passes  over  them.  It  would,  therefore,  la'  necessary  to 
increase  their  strength,  and  consequently  the  whole  cost  of  the  struc- 
ture. It  would  obviously  be  better,  if  more  engine  power  is  required, 
t<>  distribute  the  weight  on  more  wheels,  and  over  a  greater  length  of 
track.  For  this  reason,  if  it  should  be  found  necessary  to  increase  the 
number  of  cars  in  the  train  to  rive  or  six.  eight-wheeled  tank  engines  could 
be  used.  The  modification  of  the  ordinary  construction  which  is  re- 
commended, is  that  an  auxiliary  pair  of  cylinders  with  a  separate  steam- 
pipe  and  throttle-valve,  be  added  to  the  truck.  As  the  additional 
power  would  be  needed  only  in  ascending  the  heavy  grades,  the  auxiliary 
cylinders  could  be  employed  only  at  such  times. 

With  an  engine  of  this  kind,  the  weight  would  be  distributed  on  eight 
instead  of  four  points,  and  over  a  greater  length  of  track,  so  that  there 
would  be  very  little  more  concentrated  load  than  with  the  lighter  loco- 
motive and  the  proposed  train.  The  same  result  could  be  accomplished, 
by  coupling  two  of  the  lighter  engines  above  described  at  the  head  of  the 
train.  This  would  be  preferable  on  some  accounts,  butwould  involve  two 
engineers  and  two  firemen,  instead  of  one  -single  crew. 

Location  of  Rot:tes. 

It  was  stated  when  discussing  the  character  of  the  structure,  that  this 
could  not  be  definitely  settled  without  the  advice  and  concurrence  of  the 
capital  which  was  to  build  it.  This  co-operation  is  even  more  necessary 
in  the  location  of  the  routes.  Indeed,  the  character  of  the  structure 
required  will  vary  so  much  with  the  location,  that  the  two  must  be  taken 
up  and  decided  together,  with  the  assistance  of  those  who  represent  the 
money  which  is  to  pay  for  the  work. 

After  careful  examination  of  the  various  routes  which  have  been  advo- 
cated before  your  committee,  it  is  of  opinion  that  the  present  wants  of 
the  population  can  best  be  served  by  two  rapid  transit  roads,  one  on 
the  east  and  another  on  the  west  of  Central  Park.  The  one  on  the  east 
side  may  be  either  on  the  line  of  Third  or  of  Fourth  Avenue.  If  upon 
the  latter  (and  your  committee  is  of  opinion  that  this  would  prove  both 
the  most  valuable  and  the  most  convenient  route),  it  should  be  built  as 
an  extension  of  the  Fourth  Avenue  Improvement  of  the  Harlem  Railroad, 
and  under  the  control  either  of  that  company,  or  of  a  corporation  holding 
a  contract  with  it  to  run  its  trains  through  the  tunnel  from  Thirty-fourth 
to  Forty  -second  street,  and  over  the  tracks  intended  for  local  business 
north  of  Forty -second  street,  so  as  to  avoid  all  transfer  of  rapid  transit 


27 


passengers  at  that  point.  The  estimates  of  revenue  and  operating 
expenses  upon  this  line,  which  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix  B, 
indicate  that  as  much  as  $1  500  000  per  mile  could  profitably  be  invested 
on  this  extension,  so  that  if  an  underground  line  is  to  be  carried  out 
anywhere,  this  would  seem  to  be  the  route  to  locate  it  on.  If  built 
as  an  elevated  road,  there  would  be  some  difficulty  in  raising  the  track 
after  emerging  from  the  tunnel  at  Thirty  -fourth  street,  so  as  to  avoid 
blocking  some  of  the  cross  streets.  This  might  be  obviated  either  by 
running  for  a  short  distance  through  the  blocks  towards  Lexington 
Avenue,  to  avail  of  the  slope  of  the  ground,  or  by  raising  the  crown  of  the 
tunnel ;  but  it  can  best  be  settled  by  surveys.  In  fact,  surveys  would  be 
absolutely  necessary  to  settle  the  location  of  the  whole  line,  but  your  com- 
mittee may  indicate  as  a  feasible  route — that  following  Fourth  Avenue  to 
Eighth  street,  thence  through  Lnfayette  Place,  Mulberry,  Marion,  Centre 
and  Nassau  stre<  its  t<  >  the  Battery.  Through  Fourth  Avenue  and  Lafayette 
Place  the  traffic  is  so  considerable  upon  the  streets,  that  it  seems  proper 
that  posts  shall  not  be  placed  in  the  roadway,  but  that  the  support  shall 
be  taken  at  the  line  of  the  sidewalk,  and  the  road  constructed  either 
over  the  posts,  on  each  side  of  the  street,  or  over  the  middle  of  the 
street,  and  supported  by  girders  resting  on  the  posts  along  the  inside 
line  of  the  curbs,  ejren  at  the  increased  cost  this  plan  involves.  Below 
the  southern  end  of  the  latter,  the  streets  mentioned  are  all  narrow,  and 
offer  favorable  circumstances  for  chea})  construction  over  the  middle  of 
the  street. 

All  of  this  line  should  at  least  be  built  with  two  tracks.  The  design  of 
the  structure  will  vary  greatly  with  the  width  of  the  street  between  side- 
walks. 

In  order  to  accommodate  the  portion  of  the  city  below  Union  Square, 
east  of  the  line  above  described,  a  double-tracked  loop  line  would  be 
advisable  ;  diverging  from  the  main  line  at  some  convenient  point,  and 
running  into  it  again  near  the  Battery.  It  woidd  perform  the  double 
office  of  permitting  a  better  accommodation  of  the  population,  and  of  re- 
lieving the  accumulation  of  trains  over  the  lower  part  of  the  line. 

If  it  should  be  preferred  to  build  the  rapid  transit  road  upon  the 
line  of  Third  Avenue,  the  same  line  could  be  followed  from  the  Battery 
to  Eighth  street,  and  thence  extended  through  the  blocks  to  Third 
Avenue.*    Through  this  Avenue,  the  character  of  structure  would  proba. 

*  Attention  is  c?.lled  to  the  routes  proposed  by  Messrs.  Buel,  which  for  the  southern 
portion  of  the  distance  agrees  very  closely  with  that  above  indicated  by  the  committee 
and  over  which  the  character  of  structure  proposed  by  them  would  apply  very  well. 


28 


bly  have  to  vary  with  the  locality.  Over  certain  portions,  it  would  be  ad- 
visable to  divide  the  road  in  two  and  to  run  one  track  on  each  side,  placing 
its  centre  over  the  edge  of  the  sidewalk  and  supporting  it  upon  small 
groups  of  columns,  and  at  certain  other  points  it  might  be  practicable  to 
place  posts  in  the  roadway.  A  requirement  that  the  tracks  should  be  over 
the  centre  of  the  street  and  bearing  be  taken  from  the  edge  of  the  sidewalk 
would  more  than  double  the  expense.  It  seems  doubtful  whether  capital 
could  be  found  to  take  up  this  line,  should  such  a  condition  be  insisted 
upon. 

On  the  west,  side  a  corresponding  location  would  occupy  the  line  of 
either  Ninth  or  of  parts  of  Seventh  and  Eighth  Avenues.  If  located  on 
Ninth  Avenue,  the  construction  might  be  entrusted  to  the  New  York 
Elevated  Railroad  Co.,  which  should,  however,  be  required  greatly  to 
improve  the  present  character  of  its  structure. 

Over  many  portions  of  Ninth  Avenue,  the  committee  believes  that 
posts  could  be  placed  in  the  roadway  without  serious  detriment  to  the 
surface  traffic.  The  lower  portion  of  the  route  might  pass  over  Green- 
wich Avenue  and  Washington  Square  to  the  line  of  Greene  and  Church 
streets,  the  latter  to  be  followed  to  the  Battery,  and  a  connection  made 
there,  as  well  as  on  Ninth  Avenue  near  Sixteenth  street,  with  the  present 
road  of  the  company,  which  would  become  a  loop  line.  The  new  portion 
above  indicated  should  all  be  double-tracked,  placed  over  the  centre  of 
the  streets,  which  are  all  narrow,  and  take  its  support  at  the  edge  of 
the  curbstones. 

If,  however,  this  location  be  thought  too  far  west,  the  line  could  di- 
verge from  Greenwich  Avenue  at  the  intersection  of  Seventh  Avenue  and 
follow  this  to  Central  Park.  Over  this  portion  of  the  route  either  posts 
should  be  placed  in  the  roadway  or  a  single  track  be  carried  over 
the  edge  of  the  sidewalk  on  each  side  of  the  street,  Above  Fifty-ninth 
street,  the  road  could  either  be  carried  through  Central  Park,  or,  crossing 
a  portion  of  it,  be  located  over  the  sidewalk  on  the  east  side  of  Eighth 
Avenue,  one  post  resting  on  the  Park  wall  and  the  other  on  the  edge  of 
the  curb.  Before  deciding  upon  such  a  location,  however,  careful  en- 
quiry should  be  made  as  to  its  probable  effect  upon  the  value  of  the 
choice  residence  lots  on  the  other  side  of  Eighth  Avenue.  Apprehensions 
lest  the  road  in  this  location  should  mar  the  view  of  the  Park  are  perhaps 
exaggerated.  It  would  be,  at  least,  80  feet  away  from  the  nearest  resi- 
dence and  could  not  be  more  unsightly  than  the  present  tall  row  of  tele- 


29 


graph  poles,  the  removal  of  which  w  ould  then  become  possible  by  trans- 
ferring the  wires  to  the  elevated  railway. 

The  great  width  of  the  Boulevard,  and  the  fact  that  a  strip  22  feet 
in  width  has  been  laid  out  as  a  lawn  in  its  centre,  from  59th  to  126th 
streets,  offer  a  tempting  location  for  a  rapid  transit  road.  The  surface 
grades  are  at  some  points  too  steep  to  be  followed,  and  the  road  would 
have  to  be  partly  elevated  and  partly  in  excavation.  If  the  Boulevard, 
however,  is  to  be  reserved  as  a  public  drive,  a  railroad  should  not  be 
located  in  it,  and  it  is  perhaps,  too  far  to  the  west  to  form  a  harmonious 
part  of  the  system  which  will  eventually  be  required. 

The  two  rapid  transit  roads  above  indicated,  through  either  Third  or 
Fourth  Avenues  on  the  east  side,  and  through  either  Eighth  or  Ninth 
avenues  on  the  west  side,  are  quite  as  much  as  should  at  first  be  under- 
taken, and  will  for  some  time  accommodate  the  wants  of  the  population. 
They  will  rapidly  develop  new  business,  by  inducing  building  in  the 
wilderness  in  the  upper  part  of  the  island,  and  make  it  possible  to  com- 
plement them  in  a  few  years  by  an  additional  parallel  line  on  each  side. 
These  may  be  next  to  the  water  front  and  located  over  a  freight  rail- 
road on  the  surface,  which  the  committee  recommends  in  the  second  part 
of  this  report.  Their  general  location  must  be  taken  into  account  in  de- 
signing the  first  lines  to  be  built,  but  the  exact  details  may  be  left  to  be 
settled  by  time. 

The  committee  is  conscious  that  its  description  of  the  routes  pro- 
posed is  somewhat  vague.  It  confesses  that  it  is  unable  to  determine 
what  would  be  absolutely  the  best  details  of  location.  Although  its 
members  have  carefully  considered  the  different  routes  which  have  been 
proposed,  and  have  examined  most  of  them  on  the  ground,  they  do  not 
feel  competent  to  decide  positively  the  exact  lines  to  be  adopted  without 
consultation  with  the  parties  interested,  and  fuller  surveys  and  estimates 
of  cost  than  they  have  been  enabled  to  make. 

The  most  economical  and  advantageous  location  depends  so  much 
upon  the  character  of  structure  adopted,  and  this  again  is  so  much  in- 
fluenced by  the  location,  while  the  views  and  interests  of  property  owners 
and  of  the  public  are  so  diverse,  that  it  will  hardly  be  expected  that  these 
details  shall  be  settled  by  a  committee  of  the  Society. 

By  whom  shall  the  Boads  be  Constructed  ? 

Your  committee  has  thus  far  assumed  that  the  rapid  transit  roads  were 
to  be  built  by  private  capital,  and  operated  so  as  to  make  them  profitable 
investments.    This  can  be  done,  and  is  the  best  way  to  promote  close 


30 


eoo&omy.  Bui  capital  has  thus  far  refused  to  embark  in  the  enter- 
prise, and  in  the  pressing  needs  of  the  case  it  has  been  proposed  that  the 
city  undertake  the  work.  Whether  this  would  be  within  its  municipal 
powers  is  a  question  for  legal  counsel  to  determine,  but  your  committee 
sees  no  good  reason  why  cities  may  not  hereafter  build  railroads  within 
their  limits  for  public  accommodation,  or  even  appraise  and  condemn 
existing  tracks,  when  such  becomes  necessary  to  protect  the  interests  of 
the  public.  Yet  it  deems  that  one  more  effort  should  first  be  made  to 
enlist  private  capital  in  the  enterprise.  Construction  by  the  city  will 
meet  with  great  opposition.  It  is  so  foreign  to  American  ideas,  so 
fraught  with  political  dangers,  that  it  is  looked  upon  by  taxpayers, 
whom  your  committee  have  consulted,  with  great  suspicion.  They 
fear  that  it  would  lead  to  the  adoption  of  unwise  plans,  to  loss  of 
time  and  to  waste  and  extravagance  in  construction  and  operation. 
There  are  circumstances  under  which  the  city  could,  with  propriety, 
build  and  own  a  railway,  and  in  another  part  of  this  report  it  will  be 
found  that  the  committee  recommends,  as  a  part  of  the  full  development 
of  the  system  of  city  docks,  the  construction  by  the  city  of  a  freight 
railroad  along  the  water  front  ;  but  the  rapid  transit  question  is  one 
fraught  with  so  many  contingencies,  and  susceptible  of  so  man}'  abuses, 
that  only  with  the  greatest  reluctance  would  the  committee  see  it  en- 
trusted to  a  political  organization.  There  is,  perhaps,  no  good  reason 
why  work  undertaken  by  public  authorities  should  cost  more  than  if  done 
by  private  parties  ;  yet  it  has  been  the  uniform  experience  that  no  method 
has  been  found  so  efficient  to  promote  economy,  as  by  bringing  to  bear 
that  close  attention  which  springs  from  personal  interest.  If,  however, 
it  becomes  absolutely  certain  that  private  capital  will  not  take  up  the 
project,  it  may  be  that  the  city  will  be  compelled  to  build  the  road  as 
a  municipal  work. 

Hitherto  the  course  that  has  been  pursued  has  resulted  in  retarding 
rather  than  in  advancing  the  accomplishment  of  rapid  transit.  The 
Legislature,  when  about  to  grant  a  charter,  very  properly  wishes  to  con- 
fine the  grant  by  some  specifications,  to  protect  both  public  and  private  in- 
terests. It  wishes  to  know  the  route,  the  character  of  structure  and  the 
mode  of  operating.  It  cannot  examine  into  the  endless  complexity  of 
detail  that  is  sure  to  be  required  for  a  successful  road,  but  desires  some 
simple  plan,  easily  explained,  which  legislators  can  understand  at  a 
glance  ;  and  from  the  very  nature  of  things  this  cannot  be  made  to  apply 
indiscriminately  to  all  parts  of  the  line.    Parties  applying  for  charters 


31 


have,  therefore,  hitherto  confined  themselves  to  a  single  design,  while  the 
road  should  perforce  be  of  many  designs,  and  even  these  should  be  sus- 
ceptible of  change  and  improvement,  as  the  work  progresses  and 
fresh  facts  and  requirements  become  known.  Whenever,  therefore, 
parties  have  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  charter,  they  have  found  them- 
selves so  hampered  with  impracticable  conditions  that  capital  has  been 
unwilling  to  take  up  their  imperfect  schemes. 

Capital,  on  the  other  hand,  has  been  hitherto  unwilling  to  incur  the 
very  considerable  expenses  necessary  for  surveys,  plans,  estimates;  and 
careful  comparison  of  the  merits  of  different  routes  or  modes  of  con- 
struction in  each  part  of  the  city,  which  alone  can  form  the  basis  of  an 
adequate  design,  until  it  was  known  that  a  charter  could  be  obtained  Had 
surveys  and  plans  been  made,  they  might  have  become  useless  by  a  legis- 
lative change  of  a  few  lines  in  the  proposed  charter.  In  other  words,  the 
law-makers  have  been  unwilling  to  grant  charters  until  they  knew  on 
what  plans  the  roads  were  to  be  built,'  and  capital  has  refused  to  make  in 
the  advance  necessary  surveys  and  investigations,  ivpon  which  alone 
adequate  plans  could  be  based. 

It  has  occurred  to  your  committee  that  this  approximation  to  a  dead 
lock,  may  have  been  hitherto  the  most  serious  obstacle  in  the  way  of 
rapid  transit,  and  that  it  indicates  a  new  condition  and  requirement  of 
legislation.  Here  are  great  public  and  private  interests  in  endless  detail 
to  be  protected,  while  at  the  same  time  capital  must  be  left  sufficiently 
free  to  find  the  most  economical  solution  of  the  many  problems  pre- 
sented. The  details  of  the  location  of  the  route,  the  required  character 
of  structure  at  each  point,  the  method  of  carrying  on  the  work,  the 
mode  of  operation  ol  the  line,  are  sure  to  raise  questions  in  great  num- 
ber as  the  building  of  the  road  progresses .  which  must  be  taken  up 
and  decided  singly  and  successively,  yet  in  accordance  with  a  general 
plan,  in  such  manner  as  to  inflict  the  least  injury  possible  upon  the 
public  and  the  property  owners,  and  at  the  same  time  cost  as  little  as 
practicable  to  the  corporation.  Onerous  requirements  might  defeat  the 
building  of  tha  road  ;  unrestricted  powers  might  work  oppression.  How 
shall  all  these  details  be  settled  V 

The  recent  amendments  to  the  State  constitution  may  lead  to  a  solu- 
tion of  the  difficulty.  Your  committee  understands  that  these  amend- 
ments affect  the  question  of  rapid  transit  in  two  ways  :  first,  they  pro- 
hibit the  further  granting  of  special  charters  ;  second,  they  forbid  city 
aid  to  private  corporations. 


32 


Under  these  circumstances  there  seems  to  be  but  three  courses  open  : 
tirst,  the  rapid  transit  roads  must  be  built  by  private  capital  under 
existing  charters  ;  or  second,  they  must  be  built  by  private  capital 
under  some  general  law  not  yet  passed  ;  or  third,  the  city  must  itself 
undertake  the  work. 

Unless  the  work  shall  be  undertaken  very  soon  under  an  existing 
charter,  it  seems  important  to  frame  a  general  law  which  will  induce 
the  building  of  rapid  transit  roads  by  private  capital.  The  difficulty  will 
be,  to  protect  public  and  private  interests  while  granting  all  possible  pri- 
vileges to  the  corporations.  It  might  even  be  necessary  to  provide 
against  the  formation  of  rival  companies  for  a  term  of  years,  and  espe- 
cially to  forbid  any  company  to  occupy  the  much-coveted  Broadway 
route. 

A  valuable  suggestion  is  contained  in  the  scheme  to  build  by  the  city, 
as  well  as  in  the  bill — offered  by  Hon.  H.  G.  Eastman  last  winter.  Both 
proposed  to  appoint  a  commission  to  supervise  the  location  and  con- 
struction of  the  roads.  If  the  Legislature  will  clothe  with  adequate  pow<  srs 
a  commission  of  the  soundest,  purest  and  most  prudent  citizens  of  this 
city,  representing  all  existing  interests,  who  are  thoroughly  informed, 
and  who  will  give  their  whole  time,  it  would  seem  possible,  with  the  aid 
of  the  leading  officials  of  the  city  and  the  engineers  of  the  various  city 
departments,  to  devise  a  scheme  which  would  lead  to  the  organization  of 
two  private  corporations,  to  of  which,  a  side  of  the  city  could  be 
assigned.  The  general  routes  could  be  approximately  defined  by  the  gen- 
eral law  ;  the  principles  which  should  govern  the  character  of  the  struc. 
ture  in  different  localities  could  be  laid  down,  but  the  details  would  be 
determined  best  by  the  commission  when  the  work  comes  to  be  executed. 

►Such  a  commission  should  have  pretty  full  powers  to  superintend 
the  location,  construction  and  operation  of  the  roads,  and  of  require1 
the  character  of  the  structure  to  be  changed  over  particular  sections, 
should  the  growth  of  street  traffic  hereafter  demand  it.  It  should  have 
access  to  all  the  accounts  of  cost;  and  the  city  should  retain  the  right  of 
purchasing  the  roads  at  cost,  or  at  a  valuation,  should  public  interests 
hereafter  require  it.  The  chief  reliance  for  the  protection  of  the  travel- 
ling public  will  be  in  fixing  the  rates  of  fares,  and  providing  that  cheap 
trains  shall  be  run  for  workmen,  morning  and  evening;  but  other  details 
will  have1  to  be  settled  by  the  commission. 


33 


The  owners  of  property  in  the  upper  part  of  the  island  are  so  largely- 
interested  in  the  early  building  of  rapid  transit  roads  that  it  is  thought 
they  would  take  an  active  part  in  organizing  and  furnishing  the  means 
for  building  the  roads.  They  could  afford  to  wait  some  years  for 
direct  returns  upon  their  investment,  in  vieAv  of  the  increased  value  it 
would  give  to  their  lands.  Indeed,  it  is  vital  to  them,  and  it  will  pro- 
bably be  through  their  efforts  that  rapid  transit  will  become  possible. 
Without  it,  they  can  hope  for  but  small  increase  of  prices  or  sales,  and 
they  could  actually  afford  to  sink  the  whole  cost  of  the  roads  required, 
for  the  sake  of  the  greater  value  it  will  give  to  their  now  drooping  pro- 
perties. 

The  control  of  the  roads,  however,  should  by  preference  be  offered  to 
those  who  now  controll  the  existing  lines  of  transportation  in  the  terri- 
tory which  may  be  selected,  upon  such  routes  as  they  shall  themselves 
indicate,  but  subject  to  the  control  of  the  commission.  These  gentle- 
men are  in  better  position  than  any  new  parties  to  construct  and  operate 
cheaply  such  roads,  and  they  have  interests  which  should  on  no  account 
be  arrayed  against  rapid  transit.  If,  however,  they  fail  to  organize  under 
a  general  charter,  with  conditions  which  will  insure  building  the  roads 
within  a  reasonable  time,  other  capitalists  should  be  invited  to  come  in. 
As  a  last  resort,  it  may  be  advisable  to  take  the  line  up  as  a  city  work, 
and  to  defray  a  part  of  the  cost  from  an  issue  of  city  bonds,  and  a  part 
from  taxes  laid  directly  against  the  property  to  be  benefited  thereby. 

As  a  result,  therefore,  of  the  consideration  of  all  the  plans  and  schemes 
that  have  been  submitted  to  your  committee,  and  of  the  arguments  that 
have  been  made  for  or  against  them,  it  has  reached  five  conclusions  : 

1st.  In  order  to  be  profitable  with  the  fares  and  volume  of  business 
likely  to  be  obtained,  double-tracked  rapid  transit  roads  should  not  cost, 
fully  equipped,  much,  if  any,  more  than  from  $700  000  to  $1  125  000  per 
mile,  according  to  location,  and  this  points  to  some  form  of  elevated 
railroad  as  the  leading  feature  of  the  design  to  be  recommended. 

2d.  The  right  of  way  must  be  given  to  them,  over  streets  selected  for 
that  purpose,  and  they  should  be  operated  by  locomotives  and  by  cars  of 
somewhat  different  construction  than  those  in  use  in  this  country,  made 
very  much  lighter  than  ordinary  rolling-stock. 

3d.  The  character  of  the  structure  carrying  the  roads  should  vary 
with  the  location,  so  as  to  adapt  itself  to  the  local  circumstances  of  each 
case.    No  one  single  plan  is  likely  to  prove  applicable  over  all  parts  of 
5 


34 


the  city.  The  general  principles  which  should  govern,  have  been  set 
t    forth  in  the  body  of  this  report. 

4th.  There  should  presently  be  two  roads,  one  on  the  east  and  another 
on  the  west  side  of  Central  Park,  to  be  eventually  complemented  by  one 
additional  road  on  each  side.    The  latter  may  be  along  the  water  front. 
5th.  Another  effort  should  be  made  to  induce  private  capital  to  build 
/LMheni.    If  this  fails,  they  flWaW  be  taken  up  by  the  city  and  built  as 
municipal  works. 

The  needed  roads  can  be  built  in  one  year.  To  confer  rapid  transit 
on  the  city  of  New  York  seems  an  object  not  unworthy  the  highest 
ambition  of  its  leading  citizens, 

The  soundness  or  fallacy  of  these  conclusions,  and  the  consequences 
which  result  from  them,  must  be  established  by  the  discussion  which  you 
shall  give  to  this  report. 

The  Society  can  hardly  realize  the  labor  which  this  investigation  has 
imposed  upon  your  committee.  It  has  condensed,  as  well  as  it  could,  the 
most  valuable  considerations  presented  by  others,  and  yet  the  report  has 
swelled  to  inordinate  length.  It  called  for  information,  and  it  got  more 
than  it  could  properly  manage  within  the  time  at  its  disposal.  *  If  it  has 
succeeded  in  bringing  the  question  within  narrower  limits,  and  in  clear- 
ing a  foundation  for  others  to  build  on,  although  it  does  not  recommend 
more  definite  plans,' either  of  structure  or  of  location,  it  will  feel  that  its 
labors  have  not  been  altogether  in  vain. 

Pakt  II. — The  best  and  cheapest  methods  of  delivering,  storing 

AND  DISTRIBUTING  GOODS  AND  FREIGHT. 

Your  committee  feel,  very  fully  impressed  with  the  belief  that  the 
freight  question,  although  it  has  attracted  less  public  attention,  is  of  even 
greater  and  more  vital  importance  to  the  prosperity  of  the  city  of  New 
York,  than  the  rapid  transit  question. 

The  plans  now  in  use  for  receiving  and  handling  a  large  portion  of  the 
produce  and  goods  which  arrive  in  the  city  of  New  York  for  export  and 
for  distribution,  were  made  by  a  preceding  generation.  They  may  have 
been  wise  and  liberal  in  their  day,  but  they  were  designed  with  sole  ref- 
erence to  water  transportation,  and  for  a  business  very  much  smaller  than 
that  of  the  present  day,  and,  in  some  respects,  of  different  character. 
They  have  now  been  fairly  outgrown  by  the  enormous  increase  of  trade, 


*  This  material  (equivalent  to  about  10  octavo  volumes)  is  handed  to  ths  Society  with 
this  report. 


35 


and  a  new  element  has  been  introduced  by  the  invention  and  rapid  de- 
velopment of  railways,  so  that  methods  which  were  once  the  cheapest,  and 
best  adapted  to  the  commerce  of  this  port,  now  prove  cumbrous,  compli- 
cated and  expensive,  simply  by  the  growth  of  the  traffic. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  your  committee  that  several  millions  of  dollars 
can  annually  be  saved  to  the  merchants  of  this  city  dnd  to  the  country 
at  large,  by  remodeling  and  improving  the  mode  of  transacting  some 
classes  of  business. 

Deeming  all  theories  and  plans  of  but  little  value  unless  based  upon 
the  solid  ground  of  ascertained  facts,  your  committee,  from  the  begin- 
ning of  its  enquiry  into  the  handling  of  goods  and  freight  received  at 
this  port,  undertook  to  ascertain  the  exact  volume  and  weight  of  the  re- 
ceipts of  each  class  of  articles  from  all  sources,  distinguishing  between 
those  received  by  railroad  and  those  coming  by  water.  The  results  were 
carefully  tabulated,  and  in  the  tables,  it  is  attempted  to  show  the  general 
method  of  dealing  with  each  class  of  articles  after  arrival,  and  the  cost 
per  ton,  as  well  as  the  aggregate  cost  of  conveying,  storing,  and  finally 
disposing  of  them.  In  other  words,  the  committee  undertook  to  ascer" 
tain  the  actual  terminal  expenses  incurred  for  each  class  of  articles  while 
in  the  hands  of  the  New  York  merchants. 

For  lack  of  sufficient  time,  these  tables  have  not  been  completed. 
Notwithstanding  the  valuable  aid  furnished  by  the  members  of  the 
Produce  Exchange,  and  by  many  gentlemen  in  possession  of  particular 
facts,  it  was  found  that  the  data  was  so  scattered  that  there  were 
so  many  articles  of  which  no  returns  could  be  obtained,  such  as 
market  produce,  lumber,  brick,  stone,  &c,  &c,  arriving  for  local  con- 
sumption ;  that  there  were  besides  so  many  variations  in  the  cost  of  hand- 
ling the  same  class  of  articles  ;  nothing  like  a  full  and  complete  table 
could  be  constructed  in  the  time  at  the  disposal  of  the  committee. 

The  committee,  however,  appends  hereto  a  table  pertaining  to  the 
receipts  of  domestic  produce,  which  it  has  been  enabled  to  compile  with 
sufficient  accuracy  to  form  some  idea  of  the  charges  which  arriving  prop- 
erty has  to  bear  at  this  port.-  It  will  be  noted  that  these  charges  vary 
from  Si  to  $10  per  ton,  and  that  they  averaged  83.07  per  ton  upon  the 
4  631  700  tons  of  receipts  covered  by  the  table.    That  some  of  these  can 


*  The  committee  also  hands  in  to  the  Society  a  large  mass  of  information  which  it  haa 
gathered  on  this  subject,  and  which  it  hopes  hereafter  to  take  up,  or  to  place  at  the  disposal  of 
parties  who  may  wish  to  continue  this  important  inquiry. 


36 


be  materially  reduced  will,  perhaps,  be  shown  best  by  taking  up  the  case 
of  particular  receipts.  Thus  flour  arrives  mainly  by  rail  and  is  generally 
delivered  at  Coenties  Slip.  It  is  thence  carted  to  various  stores  in  the  vi- 
cinity, at  a  cost  of  about  4  cents  per  barrel.  The  storage  charged  is  generally 
3  cents  per  barrel  per  month,  and  as  it  is  estimated  that  the  average  time 
is  about  a  month  and  a  half,  this  amounts  to  4£  cents  per  barrel,  in  addi- 
tion to  which  3  cents  are  charged  by  the  store  for  handling  in  and  out. 
When  sold,  the  flour  is  delivered  from  store  at  a  cost  of  7  cents  per  barrel 
if  lightered,  and  of  8  cents  if  drayed  ;  say  an  average  of  1\  cents.  These 
various  handlings,  however,  injure  some  of  the  barrels,  and  it  is  estimated 
by  those  in  the  trade  that  there  is  a  cost  averaging  3  cents  per  barrel  for 
re-coopering.  If  this  flour  could  be  delivered  direct  from  the  railroad 
cars  in  which  it  arrives,  into  warehouses  suitably  located,  the  cost  would 
be  diminished  by  at  least  7  cents  per  barrel,  thus  effecting  a  saving  in 
this  item  alone,  of  at  least  $225  000  a  year  in  extra  drayage,  handling 
and  re-coopering. 

In  the  case  of  cotton,  which  mainly  arrives  by  water,  a  considerable 
part  of  the  receipts  are  drayed  from  the  vessels  to  stores  and  cellars  in 
the  vicinity  of  Hanover  Square,  and  when  sold  is  drayed  back  again 
to  the  water's  edge  to  be  shipped  to  destination.  One  of  these  two  dray- 
ages,  which  cost  about  82  per  ton,  could  be  saved  by  a  proper  system  of 
warehouses  located  on  the  water  front,  and  they,  moreover,  expose  the 
cotton  to  a  waste  and  stealage,  which  is  estimated  by  parties  in  the  trade 
as  averaging  from  10  to  15  pounds  per  bale.  It  is  estimated  that  an 
average  of  about  30  cents  a  bale  can  be  saved  by  improved  methods,  and 
this  alone  will  amount  to  8286  500  a  year. 

Reference  is  made  to  the  table  for  other  classes  of  property  upon  which 
needless  terminal  expense  is  incurred.  Itmay,  however,  be  stated  in  general 
terms  that,  in  consequence  of  the  manner  in  which  business  has  grown 
to  be  managed,  there  is  now  a  needlessly  large  amount  of  double  hand- 
ling and  drayage  on  many  classes  of  goods  which  can  be  sold  by  sample 
or  grade,  and  which  are  loaded  and  drayed  inland  to  the  store  or  cellar 
of  the  consignee,  only  to  be  reloaded  and  drayed  back  again  to  the 
water's  edge,  and  in  some  cases  reshipped  by  the  very  line  which  origin- 
ally brought  them  in.  *    These  are  onerous  charges;  they  have  already, 

*  Owing  to  its  volume  and  to  the  crowded  condition  of  the  streets,  this  cartage  is  also  need- 
lessly expensive.  There  are  frequent  stoppages  in  the  streets  and  much  waiting  at  the  points 
of  delivery.  Drays  stand  sometimes  as  much  as  24  hours  in  line,  waiting  for  a  chance  to  unload 
at  a  foreign  steamer,  and  in  one  instance  which  was  cited  to  your  committee,  a  shipment  of 
salt  fish,  and  in  another,  a  shipment  of  butter,  cost  $10  per  ton  for  drayage  from  the  store  to 


37 


decreased  the  relative  share  of  the  total  business  of  the  country  transacted 
through  the  port  of  New  York,  and  they  may  in  the  future  seriously 
diminish  it  still  further.  Indeed,  matters  have  now  reached  such  a  con- 
dition that  it  is  probable  that  well  regulated  monopolies  would  serve  the 
public  better,  and  would  prove  cheaper  than  free  competition. 

The  first  relief  which  suggests  itself,  is  to  reduce  still  further  the  trans- 
portation charges,  both  by  water  and  rail,  particularly  the  latter,  which 
each  year  gathers  an  increasing  proportion  of  the  tonnage.  The  railroads 
within  the  past  ten  years  have  reduced  their  freight  rates  to  two-thirds 
or  one-half  their  former  charges,  and  it  seems  logical  that  they  should 
be  asked  to  reduce  them  still  further.  Your  committee  hope  however,  to 
make  it  clear  that  there  is  a  much  more  pressing  need  of  a  reform  which 
shall  be  local  to  New  York,  than  of  a  further  reduction  in  freight  rates, 
especially  if  by  the  reduction  the  aggregate  profits  of  the  carriers  are  to  be 
cut  down;  it  submits  that  the  true  way  to  cheapen  transportation  and  other 
commercial  charges  should  lead  us  rather  to  seek  for  cheaper  and  more 
effective  methods  of  conducting  the  business  than  to  endeavor  to  cut  down 
the  profits  of  those  who  transact  it,  to  less  than  a  fair  return  upon  their 
investments.  While,  therefore,  fully  recognizing  the  justice  of  the  demand 
of  the  public  that  charges  for  freights  shall  be  reduced  to  a  minimum,  that 
the  cost  of  transportation  shall  be  cheapened  by  every  means  which  hu- 
man ingenuity  can  devise,  your  committee  wishes  to  call  attention  to  the 
fact  that,  so  far  as  it  can  ascertain,  railroad  rates  from  the  interior  of  the 
United  States  to  the  seaboard  are  to-day  lower  than  for  equal  distances 
any  where  else  in  the  world.  Notwithstanding  our  inflated  currency,  our 
high  rates  of  wages  and  our  comparatively  sparce  population,  our  railroads 
are  carrying  certain  classes  of  property  more  cheaply  for  long  distances 
than  any  European  lines. 

The  regular  all-rail  rates  on  fourth  class  goods,  which  include  oil-cake, 
mill  feed,  oats,  corn,  wheat,  flour,  pork,  bacon,  beef,  tallow,  lard,  potatoes, 
peas,  beans,  starch,  soap,  whiskey  and  tobacco,  have  been  during  the 
past  summer  and  fall  37£  cents  per  100  pounds  from  Chicago  and  44 
cents  per  100  pounds  from  East  St.  Louis.  This  gives  the  following 
rates  per  ton  and  per  ton  carried  one  mile. 

the  foreign  steamer.  In  one  case  cited  by  Mr.  Walker,  Statistician  of  the  Produce  Exchange, 
from  whom  valuable  aid  was  received,  drayage  on  his  household  goods  from  Brooklyn  to  the 
Xew  York  Central  E.  E.  Depot  was  more  than  the  freight  thence  to  Buffalo,  a  distance  of  HO 
miles  ;  and  in  another  case  quoted  by  a  firm  in  the  South  American  trade,  the  drayage  from 
store  to  ship  was  more  than  the  freight  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco,  around  Cape  Horn. 


38 


Route. 

From  Chicago. 

From  East  St.  Louis. 

Miles. 

Rate 
per  Ton. 

Rate 
per  Ton 
Per  Mile, 
Cents. 

Miles. 

Rate 
per  Ton. 

Rate 
per  Ton 
per  Mile, 
Cents. 

Via  Pennsylvania  R.  R.  system. . 

913 

$7  50 

0  821 

1  063 

$8  80 

0  828 

"  Erie  Railway  and  allies  

957 

7  50 

0  783 

1160 

8  80 

0  758 

«•  N.  Y.  Central  R.  R.  and  allies 

979 

7  50 

0  766 

1  1G7 

8  80 

0  753 

These  were  the  regular  rates,  while  it  is  notorious  that  in  their  fierce 
rivalry  these  railroads  have  frequently  cut  these  rates  and  accepted  much 
smaller  prices,  amounting  in  some  recent  cases  to  charges  of  0.48,  0.49 
and  0.52  cents  per  ton  per  mile,  while  the  regular  rates  as  above  yield 
little  more  than  0.75  cents  per  ton  per  mile.*  This,  too,  includes 
the  delivery  from  the  railroad  depot  to  a  public  store  or  the  vessel  or 
^P~yi£^vvt^  wharf  of  the  consignee.  How  mmmnmms  this  is,  may  be  judged  from  the 
fact  that  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  was  put  to  an  expense  of  about 
$700  000  for  receiving  and  delivering  1  100  000  tons  of  freight  at  Jersey 
City  during  the  year  1873;  that  the  Erie  Railway  reports  to  the  State 
Engineer  its  terminal  expenses  in  1873  at  New  York  were  §823  793  32  on 
a  commercial  business  of  1  468  928  tons,  or  nearly  G  per  cent,  of  its  entire 
operating  expenses,  which  were  314  174  185  59,  and  that  the  N.  Y.  Cen- 
tral Railroad  reports  it  expended  in  the  same  year  $59  151  73  for 
hauling  freight  cars  in  New  York  city  and  8545  429  25  for  lighterage  and 
cartage. 

In  general  terms,  it  may  be  said  that  it  costs  from  22  to  85  cents  per 
ton  to  convey  property  arriving  by  rail  from  the  railroad  depot  to  the 
usual  points  of  delivery  about  the  harbor  of  New  York,  and  that  this  cost 
is  included  in  the  freight  rate  ;  that  it  costs  an  average  of  about  65  cents 
per  ton  to  transfer  from  Jersey  City  to  New  York,  and  that  therefore  this 
three-fourths  of  a  mile  of  distance,  with  the  present  imperfect  methods  of 
doing  the  business,  cost  as  much  as  the  freight  on  85  miles  of  railroad 
and  virtually  lengthen  the  roads  to  that  extent. 


*  Siuce  the  above  was  written,  there  bas  been  a  further  reduction  of  all  rail  rates.  The 
present  nominal  rates  on  fourth  class  goods  (Feb.  10th)  are  35  cents  per  100  pounds  from 
Chicago  to  New  York,  and  40  cents  to  Boston.  From  East  St.  Louis  they  are  39  cents  to  New 
York,  and  44  cents  to  Boston.  Material  concessions,  however,  are  made,  and  agents  accept 
almost  "  any  thing  they  can  get,"  amounting  in  some  cases  to  on'y  about  one-third  of  a  cent 
a  ton  per  mile.  A  recent  invoice  of  cotton  was  hauled  over  400  miles  by  rail  and  delivered  to 
ship  in  this  harbor  at  a  rate  which  yielded  $1  80  per  ton,  or  less  than  the  cartage  in  this  city 
would  have  been  to  store  and  back. 


39 


It  is  evident  that  this  great  cost  is  eventually  charged  to  the  public, 
and  that  whatever  of  cheapening  can  be  effected  by  improved  methods, 
will  result  to  the  benefit  both  of  the  public  and  of  the  railroads. 

The  New  York  Cheap  Transportation  Association  state  in  its  report 
on  terminal  facilities  (page  35)  that  "New  York  importers  are  sending 
"  goods  from  Europe,  destined  to  the  interior,  to  Baltimore  and  thence 
"  by  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad,  on  through  bills  of  lading,  to  des- 
"  tination.  Interior  merchants  insist  upon  such  a  course,  as  the  freight  is 
' '  cheaper  both  by  ship  and  rail,  the  ship  freight  being  5  shillings  per 
"  ton  cheaper,  and"  the  rail  rate  from  5  to  20  cents  per  100  pounds  less, 
"  while  the  cost  of  transfer  is  noil  ting,  and  the  responsibility  direct, 
"  against  85  per  ton  in  carting,  damages,  stealing,  delay,  storage,  in- 
"  surance,  Sax.  in  Xew  York.  Is  that  statement  (which  is  true)  creditable 
"  to  New  York,  and  can  she  continue  to  prosper  under  such  a  condition?  " 

The  above  estimate  of  So  per  ton  for  terminal  charges  in  Xew  York 
seems  at  first  somewhat  startling.  It  seem  incredible  that  the  handling 
and  conveyance  of  property  in  the  city  (perhaps  one  mile)  should  cost  two- 
thirds  of  the  freight  from  Chicago,  a  distance  of  913  miles.  It  appears, 
however,  from  the  table  hereto  appended,  that  there  are  many  classes  of 
articles  upon  which  the  terminal  charges  amount  to  §5  per  ton,  and 
that  the  average  cost  on  the  4  631  700  tons  tabulated,  is  83. 07  per  ton, 
or  more  than  three-fifths  of  the  freight  from  Chicago.  This,  too,  is  wholly 
upon  receipts  of  domestic  produce,  while  all  the  information  the  com- 
mittee has  been  able  to  gather,  points  to  the  fact  that  greater  expense  is 
incurred  in  the  case  of  importations  of  foreign  merchandise. 

The  committee  estimates  that  the  total  receipts  from  all  sources  aggre- 
gate about  15  000  000  tons  a  year.  A  statement  compiled  by  Mr.  H.  C. 
Gardiner  in  1867,  aggregated  11  915  425  tons.  Probably  about  one-half 
of  this,  say  7  500  000  tons,  was  carted  more  or  less  through  the  streets  of 
New  York.  Xow,  for  the  year  ending  Oct.  31,  1874,  there  were  licensed 
by  the  Mayor's  bureau  (as  appears  by  information  kindly  furnished  by 
the  Mayor's  marshal)  8  618  tracks  and  carts  and  1  889  express  wagons, 
making  a  total  of  10  507.  This  did  not  include  the  wagons,  trucks  or 
carts  owned  by  the  larger  incorporated  transportation  companies,  by  mer- 
chants, manufacturers,  or  the  express  companies,  such  as  Adams,  United 
States,  etc.,  &e.,  which  take  out  no  licenses,  and  which  are  estimated  by 
the  Mayor's  marshal  as  nearly  equal  in  number,  making  a  total  of  20  000 
in  the  city.  Now,  if  we  make  the  generous  allowance  that  one-half  of 
these  were  engaged  in  supplying  the  local  wants  of  the  population  for 


40 


transportation,  ami  that  the  remainder  earned  an  average  of  Si  200  a  year, 
or  less  than  $4  00  a  day,  we  have  yet  an  aggregate  of  $12  000  000  a  year 
as  the  cartage  bill  paid  by  the  commerce  of  New  York,  or  an  average  of 
$0.80  per  ton  on  the  entire  tonnage,  and  of  $1.00  a  ton  on  the  7  500  000 
tons  which  are  estimated  to  be  carted. 

While,  therefore,  it  is  right  that  the  railroads  should,  and  they  doubtless 
will,  further  reduce  their  charges  by  the  adoption  of  more  efficient 
methods  of  working,  the  most  pressing  reform  needed  seems  to  be  local  to 
New  York  and  to  require  some  modifications  of  the  existing  methods  of 
handling  the  property  after  it  arrives  at  this  port.  The  merchants  and 
citizens  of  the  city  should  give  their  attention  to  the  devising  and  adopt- 
ing of  such  improvements  as  will  reduce  the  terminal  charges  to  a  mini- 
mum. It  is  the  opinion  of  your  committee  that  a  larger  saving  may  thus 
be  effected  than  by  any  probable  reduction  of  freight  rates. 

Disposition  of  Receipts  of  Goods. 

Goods  arrive  at  this  port  for  three  purposes  : 

1st.  For  local  consumption. 

2d.  For  immediate  export. 

3d.  For  distribution  to  the  surrounding  country  or  eventual  export. 

The  first  class  of  receipts  has  partially  regulated  itself,  so  that  the 
needless  expense  and  waste  are  not  very  great.  The  heavier  articles, 
such  as  coal,  lumber,  stone,  brick,  lime,  &c. ,  are  taken  directly  to  con- 
venient points,  from  which  they  are  distributed  as  wanted.  Our  market 
system  however  is  not  creditable  to  the  city,  and  is  needlessly  expensive. 
The  markets  occupy  valuable  room  on  the  water  front,  and  are  so  far 
from  the  population  to  be  supplied,  that  they  mainly  serve  as  purchas- 
ing bazaars  for  the  retail  dealers  scattered  throughout  the  city,  who 
supply  the  customers.  This  not  only  involves  in  many  cases  a  needless 
intermediate  profit,  but  it  demands  a  much  larger  number  of  dealers 
than  would  be  necessary  under  a  better  system  of  working.  Almost 
every  block  has  its  butcher  shop  or  grocery,  where  meats,  vegetables, 
and  supplies  are  furnished,  thus  adding  doubtless  to  the  convenience  of 
the  customer,  but  enhancing  the  cost.  If  the  trade  could  be  concen- 
trated at  suitable  points,  to  which  the  customers  would  repair,  the 
traffic  could  be  done  by  fewer  persons,  who  now  waste  much  time  wait- 
ing for  customers,  and  could  make  larger  aggregate  profits  while  selling 
at  lower  prices  in  consequence  of  the  larger  volume  of  their  trade. 

Receipts  of  the  second  class  are  now  handled  nearly  as  well  as  they 
can  be.    They  are  taken  in  most  cases  directly  from  the  transportation 


41 


line  which  brings  them,  to  the  steamer  or  vessel  which  is  to  convey  them 
away.  Some  improvements  are  perhaps  possible  in  the  modes  of  trans- 
acting this  business,  and  especially  in  applying  steam  or  other  power  to 
the  lighters,  so  as  to  reduce  the  cost  of  handling;  but  these  changes  will 
be  incident  to  any  improved  methods  to  be  applied  to  receipts  of  the  third 
class  which  come  to  this  port  for  sale  or  speculation,  and  are  held  here 
for  some  little  time.  It  is  in  this  third  class  that  great  carting,  waste 
and  stealing  occurs,  and  it  is  precisely  in  this  business  that  New  York  has 
to  compete  with  other  cities. 

Goods  arriving  for  sale  will  bear  extra  handling  and  drayage — first, 
if  they  must  be  shown  to  the  customer  before  effecting  a  sale,  second,  if 
their  value  is  great  in  proportion  to  their  bulk.  Thus  a  ton  of  tea, 
worth  say  $1  200,  is  enabled  to  bear  very  considerable  drayage,  while  a 
ton  of  coal,  worth  $5,  can  bear  but  little  expense. 

The  cheaper  the  goods  in  proportion  to  their  weight  and  bulk,  the 
less  can  they  afford  handling,  and  it  would  seem  to  be  the  part  of  wisdom 
to  provide  storage  facilities  for  these,  at  convenient  points  of  concen- 
tration, and  as  near  to  the  points  of  arrival  as  possible,  where  they  can 
be  deposited  until  wanted  for  shipping  or  local  consumption  ;  the  sales 
being  effected  by  sample  or  grade. 

The  mode  of  arrival  of  goods  destined  for  future  sales  determines  in 
a  great  degree  the  best  method  of  dealing  with  them.  If  they  come  by 
vessels,  similar  products  can  be  concentrated  at  one  point  on  the  water 
front,  and  a  saving  thus  effected  in  handling,  inspection,  superintend- 
ence and  protection  both  from  the  weather  and  from  theft.  If,  however, 
the  articles  arrive  by  railroad,  it  would  add  to  the  expense  to  concentrate 
the  receipts  from  all  sources  at  one  single  point,  and  it  would  prove 
cheaper  to  unload  and  store  them  in  close  proximity  to  the  various  ter- 
mini of  the  roads,  and  to  rehandle  them  only  when  their  final  destina- 
tion becomes  known. 

It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  the  city  of  New  York  was  not  origin- 
ally laid  out  upon  the  principle  of  having  a  strip  of  lots  or  ground, 
between  the  bulkhead  and  the  first  street  parallel  with  the  shore.  This 
would  have  afforded  an  opportunity  for  the  cheap  storage  of  com- 
modities destined  for  export  or  distribution,  without  carting  them  in- 
land. As  now  arranged,  the  existence  of  streets  next  to  the  docks  and 
bulkheads,  throws  such  a  large  traffic  upon  them  longitudinally  as  to 
make  the  land  side  of  the  streets  nearly  worthless  for  storage  purposes. 


42 


The  goods  cannot,  with  economy,  be  transferred  across  the  longitudinal 
traffic,  from  the  water  front  to  the  other  side  of  the  street.  So  much, 
indeed,  does  this  press  upon  the  street,  that  in  1871  the  Dock  Commis- 
sioners adopted  the  plan  proposed  by  their  engineer-in-chief,  Gen.  Geo. 
B.  McClellan,  and  have  commenced  the  work  of  widening  the  streets  to 
a  width  of  250  feet  along  the  North  river,  200  feet  along  the  East  river 
from  the  Battery  to  Grand  street,  and  175  feet  north  of  that  point.  No 
special  plans  beyond  this,  seem  to  have  been  entertained. 

The  question  now  occurs,  how  this  most  desirable  improvement  of 
widening  these  streets,  can  be  made  of  the  utmost  use  in  cheapening  and 
facilitating  the  commerce  of  the  port.  If  it  be  all  left  as  an  open  street, 
it  will  doubtless  relieve  the  jam  of  trucks  and  drays  now  existing,  but  it 
will  not  decrease  the  amount  of  drayage  required,  nor  make  it  more  fea- 
sible to  carry  goods  across  the  street  to  warehouses  on  the  other  side.  It 
will  instead,  increase  the  cost  of  the  latter  operation,  by  reason  of  the 
greater  distance. 

Although  the  docks  themselves  are  old  and  worn  out,  the  general  pier 
system  of  New  York  is  scarcely  to  be  improved  upon,  except  in  the  ar- 
rangement of  details.  Its  alternate  piers  and  slips,  give  the  longest 
wharf  and  quay  lines  for  a  given  amount  of  water  frontage  ;  the  great  im- 
provement, therefore,  must  look  to  the  proper  treatment  of  the  street 
next  to  the  bulkhead.  The  docks  themselves  should  mainly  be  kept  un- 
obstructed, to  secure  the  rapid  delivery  and  carrying  away  of  goods 
arriving  for  immediate  consumption  or  for  local  division  and  distribu- 
tion; the  great  mistake  was  in  having  a  street  immediately  next  to  them. 

It  has  been  proposed  by  Mr.  H.  C.  Gardiner  (who  has  explained  his 
plans  fully,  and  furnished  valuable  aid,  to  your  committee),  to  use  a  portion 
of  the  land  reclaimed  for  this  street,  for  the  purpose  of  building  an  ele- 
vated viaduct  railroad  of  two  or  four  tracks,  either  upon  iron  trestles  or  on 
masonry,  around  the  bulkhead  line,  from  which  tracks,  spurs  and  switches 
should  be  run  at  an  elevation  of  18  or  20  feet  above  the  docks,  to  some  ten 
warehouses  to  be  built  upon  piers  to  be  bought  from  the  city.  Although 
it  contains  some  valuable  features,  your  committee  cannot  fully  approve 
this  plan.  The  viaduct  would  cost  from  $500  000  to  $700  000  a  mile, 
and  the  foundation  of  the  warehouses  80  feet  by  150,  and  five  stories 
high,  (which  would  have  to  be  carried  to  great  depths  with  iron  or  ma- 
sonry columns,  so  as  to  leave  unobstructed  flow  for  the  tides, )  would  cost 
from  $150  000  to  $200  000  apiece.  With  a  view,  therefore,  of  removing 
the  existing  difficulties,  and  cheapening  the  cost  of  transacting  business 


43 


in  the  city  of  New  York,  your  committee  propose  five  remedies  to  be 
further  discussed  by  your  Society  and  by  the  parties  whose  interests  may 
be  affected  thereby. 

Ke^ledies  Proposed. 

1st,  We  suggest  that  in  addition  to  the  13  existing  city  markets, 
there  should  be  more  retail  market-houses,  say  20  in  number,  at  con- 
venient points  throughout  the  city.  These  should  be  of  medium 
size,  covering  about  half  a  block  each,  and  can  best  be  built  and 
managed  by  joint  stock  companies  or  associations,  as  in  Philadelphia. 
They  would  by  no  means  obviate  the  necessity  for  one  large  wholesale 
market,  such  as  Washington  Market  is  now;  but  by  concentrating  trade, 
and  bringing  the  producer  and  consumer  together,  they  would  promote 
the  economy  of  both.  If  these  houses  are  properly  located,  the  dealers 
will  be  insured  a  volume  of  business  so  much  larger  than  with  the  present 
corner  grocery  system,  and  their  rents  will  be  so  much  less,  that  they  can 
sell  at  lower  rates,  while  realizing  greater  aggregate  profits. 

It  may  be  laidYlown  as  a  general  principle,  that  supplies  intended 
for  local  consumption,  should  be  taken  immediately  upon  their  arrival, 
to  some  interior  point,  convenient  for  their  distribution  ;  and  for  this 
purpose  we  do  not  believe  any  system  of  transportation  can  be  devised, 
superior  to  the  present  methods  of  transportation  by  wagons. 

2d.  We  suggest  that  the  Society  discusses  whether  it  is  not  possible  to 
adopt  an  improved  system  of  lighterage  to  ships  and  docks,  by  which  the 
boats  and  barges  shall  be  better  adapted  to  each  class  of  the  traffic,  and 
in  order  to  save  handling,  be  loaded  and  unloaded  by  steam  or  hydraulic 
power.  In  connection  with  this,  we  wish  to  commend  the  system  of 
delivering  and  receiving  goods  directly  into  the  railroad  cars  placed  on 
barges,  at  various  points  of  the  water  front,  and  to  suggest  whether  dray- 
age  cannot  be  saved  from  the  interior  of  the  city,  by  extending  this  sys- 
tem, so  as  to  receive  at  additional  points  scattered  along  the  water  front. 
It  is  probable  that  in  the  latter  case  a  small  extra  charge  per  ton  received 
would  have  to  be  made  at  those  points  where  the  traffic  was  light,  in 
order  to  cover  the  extra  cost  of  check  clerks,  and  the  necessary  subse- 
quent sorting  of  miscellaneous  receipts.  The  details  would  have  to  be 
discussed  and  agreed  upon,  in  connection  with  the  railroads,  but  the  plan 
would  seem  to  promise  some  economy,  by  saving  cartage  to  the  mer- 
chants. 

3d.  We  suggest  that  there  should  be,  in  close  connection  with  each 
important  railroad  terminus  at  this  port,  a  system  of  fire-proof  storage 


44 


Warehouses,  for  the  custody  of  all  bulky  or  low-priced  goods  not  going 
into  immediate  consumption.  These  should  front  upon  a  basin  or  slip, 
the  railroad  tracks  being  upon  the  other  side,  or  else  inside  the  warehouses. 
They  should  be  divided  into  chambers  or  bins  in  which  the  goods  would 
be  stored,  preserving  the  identity  of  each  lot  not  admitting  of  grading. 
Each  invoice  might  be  divided  into  round  lots,  corresponding  to  the 
number  of  such  articles  generally  transferred  at  a  sale,  and  separate 
assignable  receipts  given  for  each,  the  property  being  deliverable  upon 
return  of  such  certificate,  properly  endorsed  and  audited.  Upon  these 
receipts,  advances  could  be  obtained,  and  no  expenses,,  except  storage, 
would  be  incurred  upon  the  goods  from  their  arrival  at  the  railroad  ter- 
minus until  they  were  sold.  The  same  system  could  be  extended  to 
imported  goods  in  bond,  destined  for  the  interior  of  the  country,  and 
berths  provided  for  foreign  steamers  in  connection  with  the  basins  or 
slips.  In  every  case  the  New  York  merchant  or  importer  would  sell  by 
sample  in  his  counting-house,  and  transfer  the  property  by  merely  giving 
an  order  on  the  warehouse. 

There  is  not  the  slightest  necessity  for  waiting  until  the  railroads 
inaugurate  such  a  system,  and  indeed  it  is  doubtful  whether  their  charters 
will  permit  them  to  engage  in  a  general  storage  business,  or  to  make 
advances  on  consignments  such  as  would  be  required.  If  for  these  or  finan- 
cial reasons,  they  are  not  prepared  to  undertake  the  scheme  themselves, 
contracts  can  probably  be  made  with  them  to  transact  that  portion  of 
their  business  not  requiring  immediate  delivery,  in  connection  with  a 
series  of  warehouses  owned  and  managed  by  associations  of  citizens.  The 
New  York  Central  has  land  at  Sixty -fifth  street  ;  the  New  Jersey 
Central,  the  Pennsylvania  and  the  Erie,  each  has  surplus  lands 
on  the  Jersey  shore,  which  could  be  devoted  to  such  purposes  ;  and  there 
is  a  piece  of  ground,  admirably  situated  between  the  lands  of  the  Erie  and 
of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western  Railroad,  which  could  be  made 
accessible  to  both  those  companies.  It  can  be  shown  that  such  improve- 
ments would  save  considerable  expense  to  the  commerce  of  this  port,  and 
would  prove  remunerative  to  the  owners.  We  consider  them  almost  indis- 
pensable to  an  economical  handling  of  railroad  receipts  of  which  the  final 
destination  is  not  known.* 

*  As  early  as  1867  one  of  the  members  of  the  committee,  impressed  with  the  importance  of 
such  a  system,  secured  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  plan  above  referred  to,  some 
seventy  acres  of  space  at  Harsimus  Cove,  on  the  Jersey  shore,  for  the  system  of  railroads 
between  New  York  and  Philadelphia. 


45 


In  connection  with  this  warehouse  system  there  should  be  grain  ele- 
vators at  each  railroad  terminus.  The  mistake  should,  however,  not  be 
made  of  building  them  as  storage  elevators  alone,  and  attempting  to  pass 
all  the  grain  through  them. 

In  consequence  of  the  peculiarity  of  the  commerce  of  this  port,  that  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  grain  receipts  is  at  once  transferred  to  ships, 
and  that  the  trade  is  done,  to  some  extent,  in  large  steamers,  which  cannot 
leave  their  berths  to  go  after  parts  of  their  cargoes,  a  portion  of  the  grain 
will  have  to  be  transferred  direct  from  cars  to  lighters,  and,  for  this  pur- 
pose, an  elevated  trestle  with  chutes  is  cheaper  than  an  elevator.  The 
latter  will  serve  rather  as  reservoirs  to  equalize  the  flow, — to  permit 
prompt  unloading, — to  consolidate  receipts,  and  to  load  rapidly  the 
smaller  sail  vessels  which  take  whole  cargoes  of  grain. 

4th.  As  a  very  large  share  of  the  commerce  of  New  York  arrives  by 
water,  and  the  city  is  naturally  desirous  to  have  its  property  stored  within 
its  own  limits,  and  under  its  immediate  control  and  laws,  we  suggest  that 
a  portion  of  the  new  street,  say  about  100  feet,  now  being  built  by  the 
Dock  Commissioners,  be  set  apart  for  a  row  of  warehouses,  storage  yards 
and  manufacturing  establishments,  encircling  the  water-front  of  the  city. 
Suitable  spaces  should  be  left  between  them  to  give  access  to  the  piers. 
The  city  may  retain  the  ownership  of  the  ground,  and  lease  it  on  long 
terms,  say  fifty  years,  to  any  parties  who  may  choose  to  build,  at  a  fixed 
rate  of  interest  upon  valuations  to  be  periodically  ascertained  by  ap- 
praisers, or  it  may  sell  the  fee  to  the  land.  .  Each  warehouse  being  inde- 
pendent of  the  others,  and  of  the  general  system,  it  can  be  owned  and 
controlled  by  a  different  owner,  and  put  to  use  as  soon  as  completed. 

The  warehouses  and  manufactories  should  be  as  nearly  fire-proof  as 
practicable,  and  should  be  built  upon  a  general  system,  under  specifica- 
tions and  inspection  furnished  by  the  proper  department  of  the  city  gov- 
ernment. They  should  be  provided  with  steam  or  hydraulic  power,  for 
elevating  goods,  and  the  most  approved  appliances  for  saving  labor. 
They  would  probably  have  to  be  founded  upon  wooden  piles,  but  the 
foundations  for  a  five-story  warehouse  say  80  by  150  feet,  would,  it  is 
estimated,  not  cost  more  than  $30  000. 

To  give  a  general  idea  of  the  arangement  we  propose,  we  may 
indicate  that  there  should  be  along  the  North  river,  a  quay  next  to  the 
bulkhead  about  33  feet  wide  from  the  water's  edge,  then  a  warehouse  80 
feet  deep,  next  to  this  a  strip  reserved  for  the  belt  railroad  hereinafter 
proposed,  36£  feet  wide,  then  a  raised  sidewalk,  8|  feet  wide ,  then  a 
roadway  77  feet  wide  (or  nearly  double  the  width  of  the  present  carriage 


46 


way),  then  a  sidewalk  15  feet  wide,  as  now,  next  to  the  existing  buildings 
on  the  street,  thus  making  the  full  width  of  250  feet.  Along  the  East 
river,  unless  it  shall  be  thought  best  to  change  the  proposed  width,  the 
dimensions  might  be  a  quay  25  feet  wide,  next  to  the  bulkhead,  then  a 
warehouse  50  feet  wide,  then  a  side  track,  and  a  single  main  trade  occu- 
pying 25  feet,  then  a  raised  sidewalk  of  8  feet,  then  a  roadway  77  feet 
wide,  and  then  a  sidewalk  15  feet  wide,  thus  making  up  a  width  of 
200  feet.* 

If  the  quay  next  to  the  bulkhead  be  placed  ^  feet,  and  the  railroad 
side  track  hereinafter  mentioned  one  foot  above  the  highest  tide,  the 
lower  floor  of  the  warehouses  will  be  level  with  the  floor  of  the  cars,  and 
there  will  be  a  descent  of  4  feet  in  117,  or  in  80,  as  the  case  may  be, 
from  the  dock  to  the  crossing  of  the  first  rail,  which  will  be  an  advantage 
in  draying  goods  off  from  the  docks.  We  do  not  give  these  dimensions 
as  absolute.  The  details  should  be  carefully  considered  and  the  plans 
matured,  but  they  indicate  the  general  nature  of  the  arrangement,  which 
our  experience  as  railroad  engineers  teaches  us  to  be  economical,  f 

The  chief  service  of  the  warehouses  and  factories  would  be  to  save 
cartage  to  the  interior  of  the  city  and  back  again.  Particular  districts 
for  particular  branches  of  business  would  be  indicated  beforehand,  so  as 
to  promote  economical  concentration  of  interests.  In  connection  with 
these  warehouses,  we  suggest  that  a  system  of  light  steamers  might 
ply  along  the  water  front,  •  to  distribute  both  freight  and  passengers. 

5th.  We  would  propose,  in  connection  with  and  adjacent  to  these 
warehouses  and  manufactories,  a  belt  railroad  of  two  main  tracks  and  one 
side  track  on  the  surface  of  the  street.  The  track  next  to  the  warehouses 
should  be  a  series  of  side  tracks,  Connected  at  suitable  points,  for 
standing  cars,  and  thus  loading  and  unloading  ;  the  other  two  tracks 

*  Since  this  report  was  written,  it  has  been  understood  that  the  Dock  Commissioners 
have  decided  to  reduce  the  proposed  width  of  South  Street  to  140  feet,  from  the  Battery  to 
Montgomery  street,  and  to  100  feet  from  that  street  to  Grand  street.  The  width  of  the  street 
northerly  from  that  point  has  not  yet  been  determined.  This  reduction  will  preclude  the 
construction  of  warehouses  along  the  bulkhead  line  on  the  East  River. 

t  The  total  available  water  front  of  the  city  is  24£  miles  in  length.  The  proposed  im. 
provement  of  the  Dock  Commissioners  contemplates  on  the  North  river,  from  the  Battery  to 
Sixty-first  street,  a  river  wall  line  of  23  7-13  feet,  and  on  the  East  river  from  the  Battery  to  Fifty- 
first  street,  a  river  wall  line  of  27  995  feet,  or  a  total  of  53  738  feet,  say  10  miles.  If  we  deduct 
3  miles  for  streets  to  the  piers,  spaces  between  the  warehouses,  storage  yards  and  manufac- 
tories, and  for  other  purposes,  there  yet  remaiu  7  miles  available.  This  grou  id  will  not  be 
worth,  on  an  average,  less  than  $1  000  per  front  foot,  so  that  should  this  plan  bo  deemed  prac- 
ticable, the  eventual  result  might  be;  to  place  about  $35,000,000,  or  the  interest  thereon  in 
the  city  treasury,  to  say  nothing  of  the  increased  taxation  upon  the  buildings  erected  along  the 
bulkhead  lines.  As  none  of  your  committee  expects  to  make  a  single  penny  out  of  the  plan 
here  recommended,  they  hope  it  will  not  be  thought  an  objection  that  in  the  words  of  Col. 
Sellers—"  There's  mllions  in  it." 


47 


should  be  main  tracks,  one  for  the  traffic  in  either  direction.  They 
should  be  connected  with  ferry  slips  at  a  number  of  suitable  points,  by 
means  of  floating  bridges,  so  that  the  cars  of  any  of  the  railroads  termi- 
nating near  this  city  could  be  placed  opposite  any  of  the  warehouses  or 
manufactories  without  passing  over  any  great  distance  of  the  main  tracks, 
thus  giving  to  all  the  railroads  access  to  all  the  buildings.  The  road 
could,  in  addition,  be  used  to  transfer  goods  from  the  warehouses  to  ves- 
sels in  any  part  of  the  water  front.  It  may  be  built  and  owned  by  the 
city,  and  under  proper  regulations,  thrown  open  at  fixed  rates  of  trackage 
per  car  per  mile,  to  all  parties  wishing  to  use  it,  or  it  may  be  built  and 
managed  by  an  incorporated  joint  stock  company,  but  controlled  by  city 
regulations.  In  any  case,  perfect  impartiality  must  be  insisted  upon, 
and  no  exclusive  rights  whatever  granted  thereon. 

We  are  not  unmindful  of  the  many  objections  which  will  be  raised  to 
the  operating  of  a  railroad  across  the  traffic  to  and  from  the  docks,  unless 
elevated  above  the  ground.  We  have,  however,  proposed  to  place  it  on 
the  surface  ;  first,  to  save  in  first  cost — such  a  road  we  have  indicated 
would  cost  about  $40  000  dollars  per  mile,  while  on  elevated  road  of  equal 
capacity,  proportioned  for  the  weight  of  standard  engines  and  cars,  and 
appurtenances  for  raising  and  lowering  them  to  and  from  the  warehouse, 
would  cost  about  $500  000  per  mile  ;  and  second,  to  save  lifting  and  lower- 
ing the  goods  and  the  cars.  We  believe  the  objections  to  such  a  road  have 
been  much  exaggerated.  Not  only  would  the  volume  of  drayage  to  and 
from  the  docks  be  largely  diminished  by  the  system  we  propose,  but  the 
intervening  raised  sidewalk  between  the  road  and  the  carriage  way,  and  a 
system  of  sliding  gates  at  the  dock  entrances,  would  prevent  all  possible 
collisions  with  teams.  The  road  would  have  to  be  operated  by  dummy 
engines  at  low  speed,  mainly  in  the  night  and  at  particular  hours  of  the 
day,  say  the  early  morning,  the  noon  hour,  and  the  early  evening,  as  is 
done  with  the  belt  railroad  on  the  docks  at  Boston,  as  well  as  with  the 
trains  of  the  New  York  Central K.  E.  to  St.  John's  Park  depot.*  Of  course, 
the  question  will  have  to  be  very  carefully  considered  in  all  its  details  by 
you  and  by  the  parties  interested.  If,  upon  further  investigation  or 
trial  for  a  short  distance,  it  should  be  deemed  too  objectionable,  this 

*  The  above  warehouse  plan  differs  from  those  which  have  hitherto  been  proposed— 1st, 
in  placing  the  warehouses  on  the  bulkheads  instead  of  the  piers  ;  second,  in  having  a  continuous 
line  of  them  instead  of  only  ten  isolated  buildings;  third,  in  placing  their  general  control  in  the 
hands  of  the  city  instead  ot  a  private  company;  fourth,  in  extending  their  benefits  to  any  citizen 
who  chooses  to  build  one  ;  fifth,  in  placing  the  belt  railroads  for  heavy  engines  and  cars  on  the 
ground  instead  of  in  the  air,  and  sixth,  in  placing  an  elevated  road  overhead  for  light  passengers 
traffic  only,  should  subsequent  needs  demand  it,  thus  decreasing  materially  its  cost,  as  see 
hereafter. 


48 

feature  of  our  recommendations  could  he  abandoned,  as  it  forms  no  in- 
tegral part  of  the  bulkhead  warehouse  system.  '  In  the  latter  event, 
freight  could  still  be  delivered  and  distributed  from  them  by  water, 
though  at  somewhat  greater  cost  than  with  the  additional  aid  of  the  sur- 
face railroad.  Although  eventually  designed  to  encircle  the  whole  island, 
this  belt  railroad  need  be  built  no  faster  than  the  erection  of  warehouses 
and  demands  of  business  shall  render  necessary.  For  a  portion  of  the 
distance  it  is  proposed  to  utilize  the  space  over  the  two  main 
tracks  for  new  lines  of  the  rapid  transit  roads  when  these  become  needed. 
Such  would  stand  away  from  the  warehouses,  so  as  not  to  be  interfered 
with  by  possible  conflagrations  ;  if  proportioned  for  a  rolling  load  of 
1  200  pounds  per  lineal  foot  of  each  track,  the  road  would  cost  about 
$300  000  a  mile. 

These  schemes,  after  careful  consideration,  must  stand  or  fall  on  their 
own  merits, .  They  are  based  upon  the  theory — first,  that  all  goods  for  local 
consumption  or  immediate  export  should  be  taken  at  once  by  the  cheap- 
est method  of  conveyance  to  their  destination  ;  second,  that  upon  arrival  in 
the  vicinity  of  New  York,  all  goods  of  which  the  final  destination  is  not 
known,  should  be  unloaded  into  warehouses,  and  no  farther  transportation 
expense  put  upon  them,  until  their  final  destination  is  ascertained  ;  third, 
that  all  transfer,  lighterage  and  distribution  should  be  done  by  steam 
where  possible,  and  that  rail  traction  should  be  made  use  of,  where  prac- 
ticable without  serious  injury  to  other  uses  of  the  ground. 

Your  committee  does  not  expect  that  its  recommendations  will  be  uni- 
versally acquiesced  in  or  entirely  accepted.  These  may  conflict  with 
previously  formed  opinions,  existing  customs,  or  established  interests, 
which  it  will  be  necessary  to  consider.  Such  concessions  as  do  not 
destroy  the  efficiency  of  the  plans  may  reasonably  be  made.  An  endeavor 
has  been  made  to  take  a  general  view  of  the  commercial  necessities  of  this 
port,  and  to  recommend  the  remedies  which  seemed  to  promise  the 
greatest  economical  results,  together  with  fair  returns  upon  the 
capital  that  might  be  required  to  carry  them  out.  It  now  remains  for 
the  Society,  for  the  parties  interested,  and  for  the  public,  to  discuss 
whether  these  schemes  are  sound,  and  are  those  best  calculated  to  secure 
the  retention  by  New  York  of  its  present  position  as  the  leading  commer- 
cal  city  of  the  United  States. 

Respectfully  submitted, 
O.  Chanute,  ~) 
M.  N.  Forney,  | 
Asbel  Welch,  r  Committee. 

Charles  K.  Graham, 

F.  CoUjINGWOOD. 


49 


APPENDIX  A. 

An  Investigation  into  the  Elements  of  Success  of  a  Baped  Teanstt 
Paeeroad  for  New  York  City,  by  M.  X.  Forney. 

Before  it  is  possible  to  induce  capitalists  to  invest  a  sufficient  amount 
of  money  in  any  system  of  rapid  transit  road  to  construct  one,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  show  that  such  a  road  will  pay  a  reasonable  profit  on  its  cost. 
In  order  to  do  this,  we  must  know,  first,  what  will  be  the  expense  of 
operating  such  a  road  ;  and  second,  what  will  be  its  receipts  with  cer- 
tain assumed  rates  of  fare  and  numbers  of  passengers  carried. 

The  following  investigation  has  been  made  for  the  purpose  of  deter- 
mining what  would  be  the  profit  of  a  rapid  transit  railroad  with  different 
assumed  volumes  of  traffic  and  rates  of  fare.  In  doing  this  the  simplest 
case  has  been  taken  ;  that  of  a  road  with  two  tracks  extending  from  the 
Battery  to  the  south  end  of  Central  Park,  or  a  distance  ef  five  miles. 
The  rolling  stock  has  been  assumed  to  be  similar  to  that  recommended 
in  the  preceding  report,  and  the  road  to  consist  of  some  form  of  elevated 
structure. 

The  expenses  of  operating  a  railroad  are,  it  is  believed,  all  included 
under  the  following  heads : 

a.  Train  Expenses. — These  include  locomotive  runners  and  firemen's 
wages,  locomotive  repairs,  fuel  for  locomotives,  oil  and  waste,  water 
supply,  general  expense  of  locomotive  machine  shop — including  repairs 
of  shop  and  tools,  superintendence  of  shops,  clerk  hire,  watchmen,  fuel 
and  lights — conductors'  wages,  brakeinen's  wages,  car  repairs,  oiling 
and  inspecting  cars,  oil  and  waste,  fuel  and  light  for  same,  cleaning 
cars  and  general  expense  of  car-shops — including  repairs,  superintend- 
ence, &c. 

b.  What  may  be  called  fixed  expenses,  including  general  superintend- 
ence of  the  road,-  salaries  of  general  officers,  clerk  hire,  stationery  and 
printing,  office  rent  and  other  office  expenses,  damages  to  persons  and 
property  and  law  expenses. 

c.  Cost  of  maintaining  the  road  structure  and  track. 

d.  Maintenance  and  repairs  to  station-houses,  including  furniture  and 
appliances  for  water  supply. 

e.  Station  service,  including  men  to  assist  passengers  in  and  out  of 
cars,  signal  men,  and  women  in  charge  of  ladies'  waiting-rooms. 


50 


f.  Insurance. 

g.  Taxes. 

7i,  Maintenance  of  telegraph  line  and  signals. 

i.  An  indefinite  amount  of  expense  usually  charged  to  contingencies. 

To  facilitate  calculation  it  will  also  be  assumed  that : 

n  =  the  number  of  passengers  carried  per  year. 

I  —  the  length  of  the  road  reduced  to  miles  of  single  track. 

x  =  the  rate  of  fare  for  each  passenger. 

y  =  the  number  of  single  trips  runs  by  trains  per  year. 

m  —  the  number  of  miles  run  by  trains  per  year. 

The  receipts  of  a  road  will  obviously  be  equal  to  the  number  of  pas- 
sengers carried,  multiplied  by  the  rates  of  fare  charged,  or  be  represented 
by  n  x,  and  if  we  represent  the  expenses  classified  in  the  preceding  para- 
graphs by  the  letter  which  indicates  the  paragraph,  then  : 

n  x  —  (a-\-bArc-\-dAre-\-fArg-\-h-\-i)  =  profit  or  loss. 

The  difficulty  in  applying  this  formula,  will  be  in  assigning  correct 
values  to  each  of  the  quantities  represented.  Some  of  them  it  is  believed 
are  incapable  of  correct  determination  at  the  present  time.  Thus  it  will 
be  impossible  to  tell  the  amount  of  traffic  of  a  rapid  transit  road  before  it 
is  constructed.  That  will  depend  upon  many  undetermined  elements, 
such  as  the  location  of  the  road,  the  rate  of  fare,  the  nature  of  the  struc- 
ture, the  character  of  the  facilities  afforded,  the  prejudices  and  habits  of 
the  people,  the  condition  of  general  business,  the  competition  which  such 
a  road  would  have,  and  other  equally  uncertain  elements  and  conditions 
to  which  a  road  of  this  kind  would  be  subject.  The  table  on  the  next 
page  will  show  the  number  of  passengers  carried  by  each  of  the  north 
and  south  lines  of  horse  railroads  and  omnibuses  in  New  York  during  the 
past  three  years. 

From  this  table  it  will  be  seen  that  the  number  carried  per  year  on 
each  of  the  different  roads  varies  from  less  than  2  000  000  on  the  Ninth 
Avenue  road  up  to  27  000  000  on  the  Third  Avenue  road.  In 
the  absence  of  any  means  of  determining  the  number  of  passengers  who 
would  travel  on  a  rapid  transit  road,  the  subject  may  be  investigated  by 
assuming  a  traffic  of  5,  10,  15,  20,  25  and  30  millions  of  passengers  per 
year,  and  calculating  the  cost  of  operating  a  road  with  each  of  these 
amounts  of  traffic,  from  which  the  profit  or  loss  can  easily  be  determined 
for  each  with  different  rates  of  fare. 

The  only  example  in  this  country  of  a  rapid  transit  railroad  operated 
by  steam  in  a  large  city  and  with  light  roliing  stock  is  the  New  York 


51 


Year  Ending 
Sept.  30,  1871. 

Year  Ending 
Sept.  30,  1872. 

Year  Ending 
Sept.  30,  1873. 

25 

800  000 

27 

000 

000 

26 

950 

000 

15 

2811144 

15 

366 

194 

15 

143 

048 

Broadway  and  Seventh  Avenue  

15 

001  854 

17 

565 

297 

17 

883 

776 

13 

931  873 

14 

236 

598 

14 

747 

141 

13 

858  667 

15 

420 

126 

15 

536 

160 

11 

12 

405 

10  1 

1 1 
11 

OOJ 

yo  i 

11 

276  906 

12 

504 

392 

13 

570 

955 

Forty-second  Street  and  Grand  Street  Ferry. 

7 

090  188 

7 

373 

271 

6 

812 

759 

5 

983  536 

6 

049 

697 

5 

057 

191 

2 

724  233 

3 

505 

078 

3 

53S 

710 

2 

078  185 

2 

030 

788 

1 

784 

346 

8 

173  032 

8 

770 

666 

8 

730 

888 

7 

000  000 

7 

000 

000 

7 

000 

000 

139 

695  887 

149  227  274 

148  144  931 

Elevated  Railroad,  but  as  that  line  does  not  afford  sufficient  data,  it  has 
been  impossible  to  determine  by  actual  experience  from  it,  the  cost  of  all 
the  various  items  in  the  expense  of  operating  such  a  road.  Various 
methods  have  therefore  been  employed  to  determine  them,  and  although 
it  may  be  impossible  to  do  so  with  mathematical  accuracy,  yet  by 
making  correct  deductions  from  the  expenses  of  working  other  roads, 
a  sufficiently  close  approximation  to  the  actual  cost  is  possible,  so  that 
the  profit  or  loss  of  operating  a  rapid  transit  road  under  different  con- 
ditions can  be  determined  with  a  reasonable  degree  of  certainty, 

The  cost  of  engineers  and  firemen's  wages  has  been  determined  from 
the  wages  now  paid  on  the  New  York  Elevated  Railroad  for  that  service. 
Engineers  on  that  line  now  receive  $3.50,  and  firemen  $2.00  per  day.  The 
distance  run  by  them  is  78£  miles  per  day,  which  will  be  equal  to  $.07 
per  train  mile. 

The  cost  of  repairs  of  locomotive  engines  cannot,  unfortunately, 
be  determined  with  equal  exactness  from  the  accounts  of  that  road, 
which  have  not  been  kept  in  sufficient  detail  for  that  purpose.  From 
the  annual  reports  of  the  Michigan  Central,  Burlington  &  Missouri  River, 
Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy,  Lake  Shore,  Terre  Haute  &  Indianapolis 
and  Louisville  &  Nashville  Railroads,  on  all  of  which  the  accounts  are 
kept  with  more  than  ordinary  care  and  accuracy,  the  average  expense  of 


52 


locomotive  repairs  is  $.0726  per  mile  run.  As  the  weight  of  such  engines, 
including  tenders,  is  nearly  or  quite  ten  times  that  of  those  proposed  in 
the  body  of  the  report  for  a  rapid  transit  road,  and  as  the  latter  have  only 
four  wheels  and  the  former  each  consist  of  two  eight-wheeled  vehicles,  it 
is  apparent  that  the  cost  of  repairs  for  the  latter  cannot  exceed  one-third 
that  of  the  former.  The  cost  for  locomotive  repairs  is  therefore  taken  at 
2^  cents  per  mile  run. 

The  average  cost  of  fuel  per  train  mile  on  the  roads  referred  to  is 
$.1172.  As  the  weight  of  the  trains  on  such  roads  will  also  be  about  ten 
times  that  of  those  on  the  Elevated  Railroad,  the  cost  of  fuel  for  the 
latter  would  certainly  not  be  more  than  one-third  that  on  the  former,  or 
$.0390..  Fortunately,  Mr.  Wyman,  Superintendent  of  this  Eailroad, 
has  kept  a  careful  account  for  successive  weeks  of  the  consumption  of 
fuel  of  engines  on  that  line.  During  the  time  recorded  984  miles  were 
run  and  9922  pounds  of  anthracite  coal  burned,  which  cost,  delivered  to 
the  railroad  company,  $6.50  per  ton  of  $2000  pounds.  The  cost  per  mile 
was  therefore  $.0311  That  this  cost  can  be  reduced  with  engines  of  im- 
proved construction  there  can  be  no  doubt.  It  is  evident  then  that  the 
cost  offuel,  if  engines  and  trains  of  the  kind  run  on  the  road  referred 
to  are  employed,  will  not  exceed  $.0325  per  mile  run. 

Oil  and  waste  for  locomotives,  on  the  roads  referred  to,  costs  $.00852. 
Considering  the  veiy  great  difference  in  the  size  and  weight  of  the  ma- 
chines, and  the  fact  that  the  one  kind  have  sixteen  wheels  and  the  other 
only  four,  it  is  certain  that  the  cost  of  oil  and  waste  for  the  latter  will  not 
exceed  one-fourth  that  of  the  former.  It  will  be  quite  safe,  therefore,  to 
assume  it  to  be  $.0025  per  mile  run. 

Water  supply  on  the  New  York  Elevated  Railroad  has  cost,  for 
the  year  ending  Sept.  30,  1874,  $135. 00.  In  that  time,  the  engines  ran 
80  311  miles.    The  cost  therefor  was  $.00168  per  mile. 

The  amount  of  general  expense  of  machine  shop,  including  repairs  of 
shops  and  tools,  superintendence,  clerk  hire,  watchmen,  fuel,  light,  &c. , 
on  the  Terre  Haute  &  Indianapolis  R.  R,  which  is  the  only  one  which  re- 
ports this  expense  separately,  is  one-third  of  the  whole  cost  of  repairs. 
We  will  therefore  have  $.0083  per  mile  for  this  expense. 

The  cost  of  car  service  per  train  mile  was  calculated  as  follows  :  con- 
ductors'wages  $.035;  one  brakeman  to  each  train,  $.0286.  These  are 
the  amounts  actually  paid  on  the  New  York  Elevated  Railroad. 

The  cost  of  passenger  car  repairs  on  the  Burlington  &  Missouri  River, 
Louisville  &  Nashville  and  Indianapolis  &  Terre  Haute  R.  Rs.  is  $.0617, 


53 


$.04  and  $.0836,  respectively,  or  an  average  of  a  little  over  6  cents  per 
mile.  As  the  passenger  trains  on  these  roads  will  average  nearly  or  quite 
double  the  number  of  cars,  which  are  more  than  twice  as  heavy  as  those 
designated  for  a  rapid  transit  road,  the  cost  of  repairs  per  train  mile  on 
the  latter  would  not  be  one-third  what  they  are  on  the  former,  so  that  by 
allowing  $.02  per  train  mile  for  this  expense,  it  is  certain  to  cover  the  cost. 

Oiling  and  inspecting  cars  on  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  K  E. ,  the 
only  line  which  keeps  an  account  of  this  item  separate  from  other  expen- 
ses, is  $.007732  per  train  mile.  With  trains  at  least  ten  times  as  large  as 
those  on  a  rapid  transit  road,  this  expense  must  be  quite  four  times  what 
it  would  be  on  the  latter,  so  that  an  allowance  of  $.002  will  quite  cover  it. 

On  the  same  road  referred  to,  oil  and  waste  used  in  cars  costs  $.  006946 
per  train  mile.  One-fourth  of  this,  or  say  $.00175  will  evidently  cover 
this  expense  on  a  rapid  transit  road. 

Fuel  and  light  for  cars  we  have  assumed  would  be  $.002,  cleaning 
cars  $.  0025,  and  general  expense  of  car  shops  calculated  in  the  same  way 
as  for  the  engine  shops  will  amount  to  $.00666.  The  total  cost  of  engine 
and  car  service  will,  therefore,  be  as  on  next  page. 

The  train  expenses  of  the  New  York  Elevated  Eailroad,  calculated  from 
the  statement  made  to  this  committee  by  the  Secretary  of  that  road, 
amounts  to  $.325  per  mile  run.  Deducting  from  the  cost  of  train  service, 
$4  000,  which  the  officers  of  that  company  say  has  been  expended  in  re- 
building several  engines  which  were  very  badly  constructed  (and  to  the 
latter  fact  the  writer  can  bear  testimony),  and  the  expenses  per  train 
mile  on  that  road  will  be  reduced  to  $.275,  even  with  the  unfavorable 
circumstances  under  which  that  company  has  been  operating  its  line. 
It  will,  therefore,  it  is  thought,  be  quite  safe  to  assume  that  the  train 
expenses  of  a  rapid  transit  road  will  not  exceed  25  cents  per  train  mile, 
which,  if  multiplied  by  the  number  of  train  miles,  will  be  the  value  of  a 
in  our  equation. 

The  "  fixed  expenses"  or  the  value  of  b,  has  been  determined  from 
the  amount  of  similar  expenses  reported  by  the  horse  railroads  which 
run  in  a  northerly  and  southerly  direction  in  the  city  of  New  York. 
These  are  given  in  the  State  Engineer's  Eeport  for  the  year  ending  Sep- 
tember 30,  1872,  under  the  heads  of  "  general  superintendence  ;  officers, 
clerks,  agents  and  office  expenses  ;  fuel,  gas  and  lights  ;  damages  to  per- 
sons and  property,  including  medical  attendance  ;  law  expenses  ;  adver- 
tising and  printing."  As  a  separate  charge  is  made  in  the  preceding 
estimate  of  train  expenses  for  "fuel  and  light"  used  on  engines  and 


54 


LOCOMOTIVE  EXPENSES 
(Per  train  mile  run.) 


Engineers'  and  Firemen's  wages. 

Locomotive  repairs  

Fuel  


Oil  and  waste  

Water  supply  

General  expense  of  locomotive  shops,  including  repairs  of  shops  and 
tools,  superintendence,  clerk  hire,  watchmen,  fuel  and  light  


Total  locomotive  expenses. 


CAR  SERVICE 
(Per  train  mile  run.) 


Conductors'  wages  

Brakesmen's  wages  

Passenger  car  repairs  

Oiling  and  inspecting  

Oil  and  waste  

Fuel  and  lights  

Cleaning  cars  

General  expense  of  car  shops. 


Total  car  expenses. 


Total  train  expenses  per  mile  run   $.23852 


$.0700 

.025 
.0325 
.0025 
.00168 

.00833 


$.035 
.0286 
.02 
.002 
.00175 
.002 
.0025 
.00666 


$.14001 


.09851 


cars,  only  one-half  of  the  amounts  charged  by  the  horse  railroads  for 
this  item  is  assumed  to  be  "  fixed  expense."  The  amounts  thus  deter- 
mined are  then  laid  down  as  follows  :  a  base  line,  A  B,  page  ,  is  taken,  the 
divisions  of  which  by  the  light  vertical  lines,  each  represent  a  traffic  of 
one  million  passengers  per  year.  Lines  are  then  drawn  from  A  B,  at  the 
points  which  represent  the  amount  of  traffic  of  each  of  the  roads  referred 
to,  and  the  amount  of  fixed  expenses^of  these  respective  roads  is  laid  off 
from  A  B,  on  a  scale  of  $24  000  to  an  inch,  and  the  measurement  marked 
with  a  small  circle.  Thus  the  Ninth  Avenue  line  has  a  traffic  of  a  little 
over  2  000  000  of  passengers  per  year,  and  its  fixed  expenses  are  $4  885,  so 
that  a  line  is  drawn  from  A  B  a  little  below  the  point  which  indicates 
2  000  000  of    passengers,    and  the  expense  is  laid  down  0.4  inch 


55 


Number  of 
Passengers 
per  Year. 

1  000  000 

2  000  000 

3  000  000 

4  000  000 

5  000  000 

6  000  000 

7  000  000 

8  000  000 

9  000  000 

i  eoo  oooo 

11  000  000, 

12  000  000 

13  000  000 

14  000  000 

15  000  000 

16  000  000 

17  000  000 

18  000  000 

19  000  000 

20  000  000 

21  000  000 

22  000  000 

23  000  000 

24  000  000 

25  000  003 

26  000  000 

27  000  000 

28  000  000 

29  000  000 

30  000  0U0 


!iiiiMpuii»  *  I  illl  IHllIIIil 

a';^//3K'4aazz^r^aS*fceiBiiMBMi  H  1  Illl  lllllllllllNlllllfBIIIII 


56 


from  A  B,  as  shown  at  a.  The  Sixth  Avenue  line  has  a  traffic  of 
14  236  598  passengers,  and  its  fixed  expenses  are  $34  290.  A  line  is 
therefore  drawn  from  A  B  at  the  point  indicating  that  number  of  pas- 
sengers, on  which  the  expenses  are  indicated  by  a  circle  b,  at  the  proper 
distance  from  A  B.  The  vertical  lines  each  represent  a  fixed  expense 
of  Si  000,  so  that  the  different  amounts  can  easily  be  laid  down.  The 
expenses  of  all  the  other  roads  are  laid  down  in  the  same  way.  It  is 
evident,  then,  that  if  a  line  could  be  drawn  through  each  of  the  points 
thus  laid  down,  that  its  distance  from  A  B  would  indicate  the  fixed 
expense  for  any  given  amount  of  traffic.  It  is,  however,  impossible  to 
draw  a  line  through  each  of  the  points,  but  a  close  approximation  is 
possible.  This  is  represented  by  the  line  A  C,  which  gives  us  the  means 
of  determining  the  value  of  b,  or  the  fixed  expenses  for  any  volume  of 
traffic  up  to  30  000  000  of  passengers  per  year,  which  is  near  the  limit 
of  the  capacity  of  a  double  track  road  in  New  York. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  elements  to  determine  in  the  cost  of  operating 
a  rapid  transit  road  is  that  of  the  maintenance  of  the  track,  and  the  road 
structure.  It  is,  however,  certain  that  the  latter  will  be  very  much  smaller 
than  for  any  other  kind  of  railroad.  This  is  indicated  by  the  extreme- 
ly small  expense  incurred  in  maintaining  the  tracks  of  ordinary  railroads 
on  bridges,  which  is  owing  doubtless  to  the  fact  that  there  is  no  sub- 
structure which  is  alternately  saturated  with  water,  and  then  dried  or 
frozen  and  then  thawed,  and  also  to  the  elasticity  of  the  bridge  on 
whic  h  the  rails  rest.  All  these  conditions  would  exist  in  the  case  of  an 
elevated  railroad,  and  with  light  rolling  stock,  no  one  wheel  need  be 
loaded  with  a  greater  weight  than  2  250  pounds,  so  that  the  wear  of  the 
rails  will  be  very  slight,  compared  with  that  to  which  ordinary  railroads 
are  subjected,  when  exposed  to  rolling  loads  varying  from  5  000  to  12  000 
pounds  per  wheel. 

The  details  of  cost  of  road  repairs  per  train  mile  on  the  Louisville  k 
Nashville  R  R.,  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1872,  was  as  on  next  page. 

It  is  apparent  that  some  of  these  expenses  of  keeping  an  ordinary 
railroad  track  in  repair  would  not  be  incurred  at  all  in  an  elevated  line, 
and  others  would  be  very  much  less  on  such  a  road  than  on  an  ordinary 
road.  As  there  would  be  no  ballast  or  ditches,  there  would  be  no  labor  or 
cost  expended  on  either,  and  as  the  cross-ties  would  not  be  exposed  to 
saturated  earth,  they  would  therefore  not  be  so  liable  to  decay  nor  to  injury 
from  frost.  Neither  would  there  be  culverts,  cattle-guards,  hand  or  dump 
cars,  <fcc.    The  labor  and  cost  of  adjusting  an  ordinary  track  is  largely 


57 


COST  OF  ROAD  REPAIRS  OX  THE  LOFISVILLE  &  NASHVILLE  R.  R. 


Adjustment  of  track  

Ditching  

Repairs  of  culverts,  cattle  guards  and  crossings. 

«'     "  ballast  

"     "  road  tools  

"     "  hand  and  dump  cars  

'*     "  switches  

General  expense  


COST  OF  RENEWALS. 


Renewals  

Cross-ties  , 

Labor  replacing  same   

Train  expenses  hauling  ties. 

New  rails  used 


steel, 
iron. 


Iron  rails  repaired  

Labor  relaying  track  

Material,  joint  fastenings  

Train  expenses,  hauling  iron. 


$.058180 
.010447 
.008872 
.009154 
.002398 
.001702 
.013906 
.004486 


$.029090 


.001199 


.013906 
.004486 


.030845 

.015422 

.015112 

.007556 

.003207 

.071034 

.071034 

.005048 

.005048 

.003464 

.003464 

.012998 

.006499 

.019110 

.019110 

.002091 

Total   $.272054 


S.176S14 


expended  on  the  road  bed,  so  that  the  cost  of  doing  similar  work  on  a  line 
where  there  would  be  no  ballast  nor  injury  from  frost  or  rain  would  be 
less  than  half  the  ordinary  cost.  In  the  preceding  table,  the  different 
items  of  expense  which  would  be  incurred  in  the  maintenance  of  track, 
are  carried  over  into  the  second  column,  but  only  half  of  these  amounts 
which  are  divided  between  the  ballast  and  the  other  parts  of  the  track  are 
thus  carried  over.  The  amount  of  the  expenses  thus  earned  to  the 
second  column  it,  will  be  seen,  is  $.176814  per  train  mile.  It  must  be  re- 
membered however,  that  the  weight  of  trains  which  are  proposed  for  a 
rapid  transit  road  is  less  than  one  tenth,  and  the  greatest  weight  per 
wheel  of  the  engines  is  less  than  one-fifth  that  of  such  a  railroad  as  the 
Louisville  &  Nashville.  There  pairs  to  the  track,  it  is  therefore  believed, 
will  on  the  former  be  less  than  one-tenth  that  on  the  latter,  so  that  a 
charge  of  3.02  per  train  mile  will  fully  cover  the  maintenance  of  the  track. 
8 


58 


It  is  very  difficult  to  determine  with  any  certainty  what  will  be  the 
cost  of  maintaining  the  structure  itself.  It  would  require  to  he  painted 
over  every  two  years.  This  was  done  to  the  New  York  Elevated  Hail- 
road  for  $700  per  mile  by  special  contract,  so  that  this  expense  would 
amount  to  $350  per  year.  An  equal  amount  will,  it  is  believed,  keep 
the  structure  itself,  if  properly  constructed,  in  repair.  The  cost  of  the 
maintenance  of  road  structure  and  track  per  year  would  therefore  be  re- 
presented by 

c  =  ($.02  X  m)  +  ($700  X  Q. 
The  maintenance  and  repairs  of  station-houses  is  also  very  difficult  to 
determine  from  precedent,  especially  when  the  character  and  number  of 
the  structures  is  still  undetermined.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  $1  000 
per  mile  will  be  ample  for  repairing  and  maintenance  of  well-constructed 
buildings.  An  additional  sum  of  $250  per  mile  is,  however,  added  for 
each  increment  of  5  000  000  of  passengers  carried  per  year  after  the. 
first  5  000  000. 

The  station  service  for  a  traffic  not  exceeding  10  000  000  passen- 
gers should  consist  of  two  signal  men  for  each  station,  one  on  duty  all  the 
time,  and  one  station  train  man  during  the  busiest  parts  of  the  day. 
The  expense  of  these  will  be  : 

2  signal  men  @  $3.00  each  =  $6.00 
1  train  man  @   2.50         =  2.50 


Train  service  per  station  per  day  =  $8.50 
If  the  traffic  should  exceed  10  000  000  per  year,  it  would  probably  be 
necessary  to  increase  the  station  service  to  two  train  men,  which  would 
make  the  cost  as  follows  : 

2  signal  men  @  $3.00  each  =  $6.00 

2  train  men  @   2.50    "    =  5.00 

Train  service  per  station  per  day  =  $11.00 
When  the  traffic  exceeded  20  000  000,  two  sets  of  train  men  of  two 
each,  and  probably  two  women  would  be  required  in  charge  of  ladies' 
waiting-rooms.    This  would  make  the  service  as  follows  : 

2  signal  men  @  $3.00  each  =  $  6.00 

4  train     "    @  2.50    "    =  10.00 

2  women      @  1.50    "    =  3.00 


Train  service  per  station  per  day  =  $19.00 


59 


With  three  stations  to  a  mile  the  station  service  can  easily  be  calculated 
from  the  above  data. 

From  the  reports  of  the  horse  railroad  companies  already  referred  to, 
it  is  found  that  the  average  cost  of  insurance  amounts  to  very  nearly 
$250  for  each  million  passengers  carried.  Therefore, 

n  X  $250. 
1       1  000  000. 

The  average  rate  of  taxation  reported  by  the  New  York  horse  rail- 
road companies  is  $587  for  each  million  of  passengers  transported,  which 
is  the  rate  charged  in  the  estimates  following  ;•  so  that 

_  n  X  $587. 
9  ~  1  000  000. 

The  cost  of  maintenance  of  telegraph  and  signals,  it  is  also  impossible 
to  determine  by  precedent.  An  allowance  of  $500  per  mile  of  single 
track  is  made  for  this  expense. 

For  contingencies  an  allowance  of  $750  for  each  million  passengers 
carried  is  allowed. 

Before  the  formula  can  be  applied,  and  the  cost  of  operating  a  rapid 
transit  road  calculated,  it  is  necessary  to  determine  the  number  of  trains 
which  must  be  run  in  order  to  carry  a  given  number  of  passengers.  It 
is  believed,  however,  that  no  authority  should  be  granted  to  any  com- 
pany to  build  a  rapid  transit  railroad  without  the  express  stipulation  that 
not  more  than  half-fare  should  be  collected  unless  the  passenger  is  provided 
with  a  seat  on  demand.  This  provision,  it  is  thought,  would  induce  any 
company  to  provide  cars  enough  to  seat  all  passengers  in  ordinary  times. 
To  prohibit  a  railroad  company  from  carrying  more  passengers  than  can 
be  seated  in  the  cars  would,  at  times,  be  an  annoyance  to  passengers,  if 
from  special  circumstances  which  a  company  could  not  foresee,  there  were 
an  unusual  number  of  passengers  and  not  enough  cars  to  seat  them  all. 
At  such  times,  and  even  under  ordinary  circumstances,  passengers  would 
rather  stand  up  than  wait.  This  they  should  have  the  privilege  of  doing, 
but  as  a  passenger  receives  less  value  from  the  company  when  obliged  to 
stand  up  than  when  he  is  provided  with  a  seat,  he  should  pay  less.  In 
other  words  the  fare  should  bear  some  proportion  to  the  accommodation 
afforded.  This  is  but  simple  justice,  which  corporations  as  well  as  indi- 
viduals should  be  compelled  to  recognize.  If  seats  are  provided  for  all 
the  passengers  carried,  it  will  of  course  be  necessary  to  run  more  cars 
and  trains  than  would  be  needed  if  a  large  proportion  are  obliged  to 
stand  up  as  they  now  are  in  horse-cars.    It  is,  however,  very  difficult  to 


60 


determine  with  any  degree  of  certainty  the  number  of  cars  and  trains 
which  it  would  be  necessary  to  run  to  carry  a  given  number  of  passen- 
gers. As  the  travel  in  New  York  is  nearly  all  southward  in  the  morning, 
and  northward  in  the  evening,  the  trains  running  in  these  directions  at 
these  times  of  the  day  would  be  either  quite  or  nearly  filled,  whereas 
those  running  in  the  opposite  direction  would  carry  comparatively  few 
passengers.  Thus,  supposing  that  in  the  trains  running  southward  in 
the  morning,  between  the  hours  of  seven  and  ten,  an  average  number  of 
fares  equal  to  90  per  cent,  of  the  seats  was  collected,  and  during  the  same 
hours  in  the  trains  running  northward,  the  number  of  fares  collected  was 
10  per  cent,  of  the"  seats,  then  during  these  hours  the  average  would  be 
50  per  cent,  of  all  the  trains  running.  In  the  evening  a  similar  condition 
of  things  would  exist,  excepting  that  the  direction  of  the  currents  of 
travel  would  be  reversed.  At  other  times  they  would  be  more  nearly 
equalized,  and  then  the  fares  collected  running  in  each  direction  might 
be  50  per  cent,  of  the  number  of  seats.  If  this  were  the  case,  then  the 
average  number  of  fares  taken  in  running  from  one  end  of  the  road  to  the 
other  during  the  entire  day,  would  be  50  per  cent,  of  the  number  of  seats. 

On  the  New  York  Elevated  Railroad,  in  which  all  passengers  are  pro- 
vided with  seats,  the  number  of  fares  collected,  averages  for  each  single 
trip  only  about  35  per  cent,  of  the  number  of  seats.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  no  rapid  transit  railroad  which  stops  only  at  stations  at 
considerable  distances  apart,  can  secure  much  of  the  local  travel — that  is, 
passengers  who  go  only  short  distances.  It  will,  therefore,  be  dependent 
largely  upon  through  travel,  and  that  nearly  all  moves  m  one  direction 
during  certain  hours,  and  the  reverse  way  at  others.  The  traffic  of  the 
road  would,  therefore,  require  what  railroad  men  call  a  "  dead-run  "  in 
one  direction.  It  is  quite  certain,  however,  that  if  a  rapid  transit  road 
ran  trains  at  more  frequent  intervals  than  they  are  now  run  on  the  New 
York  Elevated  Road,  and  at  lower  rates  of  fare,  it  would  secure  a  larger 
proportion  of  passengers  to  each  train  than  that  road  now  carries.  Yet, 
if  cars  enough  are  provided,  as  they  should  be,  so  that  all  passengers  can 
be  seated,  it  will  be  impossible  to  furnish  exactly  enough  seats  to  supply 
the  varying  demands,  so  that,  to  be  certain  that  all  will  be  seated,  the 
number  of  seats  must  usually  be  in  excess  of  the  demand,  and,  therefore, 
it  will  be  impossible  to  fill  all  the  cars  entirely  full  when  running  in  the 
direction  of  the  travel,  and,  although  at  such  times  the  trains  moving  in 
the  opposite  direction  will  not  run  entirely  empty,  yet  it  is  quite  uncer- 
tain whether  at  these  hours  the  average  number  of  passengers  will  equal 


61 


50  per  cent,  of  the  number  of  seats.  At  other  hours  of  the  clay  travel 
will  be  still  more  irregular,  so  that  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  average  pro- 
portion of  passengers  to  seats  will  exceed  45  per  cent  of  the  latter. 
It  is  probable  though  that  a  rapid  transit  road  will  of  itself  develope  a 
traffic  the  character  of  which  it  is  impossible  to  anticipate. 

The  only  method  left  open  then,  is  to  base  calculations  on  average  receipts 
per  train  equal  to  different  assumed  percentages  of  the  seating  capacity  of 
the  cars.  Thus,  if  three  cars  are  run  in  a  train,  each  of  which  has  seats 
for  48  passengers,  the  total  number  of  seats  per  train  will  be  144,  and  if 
the  average  number  of  passengers  carried,  or  what  should  be  the  same 
thing,  the  average  number  of  fares  collected  is  50  per  cent,  of  the  number 
seats  in  running  a  single  trip,  or  from  one  end  of  the  road  to  the  other, 
then  by  simply  dividing  the  number  of  passengers  carried  per  year  by 
50  per  cent  of  144=72  will  give  the  number  of  single  tiips,  which  will  be 
run  by  trains  in  carrying  any  given  number  of  passengers.  In  other 
words,  let  p  =  the  percentage  which  the  average  number  of  passengers 
carried  per  trip  bears  to  the  number  of  seats  in  the  train,  and  s  the  num- 
ber of  seats,  then. 

n 

y  =  sXp 

With  this  formula  the  number  of  trains  can,  of  course,  be  readily 
calculated  for  any  given  amount  of  traffic  per  year,  or  for  any  assumed 
number  of  passengers  per  trip. 

The  trains  for  a  rapid  transit  road  have  been  supposed  to  consist  of 
three  cars,  similar  to  those  used  on  the  New  York  Elevated  Railroad, 
each  with  seats  for  48  passengers. 

With  the  above  data,  I  to  Y,  tables  have  been  calculated,  showing  what 
will  be  the  results  of  operating  a  road  if  the  average  number  of  passengers 
carried  per  trip  is  equal  to  40,  45,  50,  55  and  60  per  cent,  of  the  number 
of  seats,  and  with  different  assumed  volumes  of  traffic  and  rates  of  fare, 
-  These  Tables  have  six  columns,  each  containing  the  items  of  cost 
of  carrying  the  number  of  passengers  per  year,  indicated  at  the  head 
of  the  columns.  The  number  of  trains,  or  rather  the  number  of  single 
trips  made  by  trains,  is  determined  by  the  use  of  the  formula  given 
on  page  .  The  number  of  miles  run  is  obtained  by  simply  multiply- 
ing the  number  of  trains  by  the  length  of  the  road,  or  5  miles.  The 
nature  of  the  other  calculations  for  the  tables  have  already  been  explained 
with  sufficient  clearness,  so  that  no  further  explanations  are  needed.  The 
receipts  for  different  volumes  of  traffic,  and  for  5,  6,  7,  8,  9  and  10  cents 
fare  are  given  at  the  bottom  of  each  table.    The  difference  between 


G2 


I 


those  receipts  and  the  expenses  is  also  given,  and  of  course,  shows  the 
profit  of  working  the  road. 

The  money  invested  in  a  rapid  transit  road  would  be  expended,  first, 
for  the  construction  of  the  road  itself,  and  second,  for  buying  the  right  of 
way,  for  real  estate,  shops,  tools,  station-houses,  rolling  stock.  &c.  As  a 
great  variety  of  plans  have  been  proposed  for  the  construction  of  the  road 
itself,  and  as  the  other  expenses  will  be  very  nearly  the  same,  no  matter 
what  plan  of  road  structure  is  adopted,  therefore  in  order  to  determine 
how  much  money  may  be  profitably  expended  in  the  latter,  we  will 
first  determine  what  amount  of  capital  will  be  needed  for  real  estate, 
stations,  equipment,  &c.  In  making  these  estimates  the  same  plan  will 
be  followed  that  was  adopted  in  the  construction  of  Tables  I  to  V  ;  that 
is,  the  calculations  will  be  made  for  assumed  volumes  of  traffic  as  before, 
and  for  the  cost  of  right  of  way,  real  estate,  shops,  tools,  &o. ,  station- 
houses,  locomotives,  cars  and  sundries. 

Whatever  plan  of  road  is  adopted,  some  expense  must  be  incurred  for 
right  of  way  or  damage  to  property.  It  will,  of  course,  be  impossible  to 
tell  with  any  exactness  what  this  damage  will  be,  without  having  the 
location  of  the  road  fixed,  and  accurate  surveys  made.  It  has,  however, 
been  assumed  at  $1  000  000  for  the  ten  miles  of  road. 

The  average  value  of  the  real  estate,  &c. ,  owned  by  the  horse  rail- 
road companies  named  in  Table  VI,  excepting  the  Fourth  Avenue  line, 
is  a  little  over  $40  000  for  each  million  of  passengers  carried  per  year. 
More  room  is,  however,  needed  for  stables  than  for  shops  for  engines, 
whereas  expensive  machinery  will  be  required  in  the  latter.  It  is  thought, 
therefore,  that  an  allowance  of  $50  000,  for  each  million  passengers  car- 
ried per  year  on  a  rapid  transit  road  will  be  sufficient  to  provide  the 
needed  "real  estate,  shops,  tools,  &c." 

$1  000  apiece*  is  charged  for  station  houses  for  each  million  passengers 
carried,  and  it  is  assumed  there  will  be  three  to  each  mile. 

The  experience  of  the  New  York  Elevated  Kailroad  indicates  that 
about  five  engines  and  fifteen  cars  are  needed  to  carry  each  million  of 
passengers  per  year.  The  engines  are  charged  at  $3  500  and  cars  at 
$2  500  each.  *  An  additional  charge  of  $2  000  for  each  million  of  pas- 
sengers is  made  for  "sundries." 

*  It  is  not  strictly  correct  to  take  tbe  experience  of  this  road  and  apply  it  to  all  the  as- 
sumed conditions  of  traffic  as  it  would  obviously  take  more  cars  to  carry  a  given  number 
of  passengers  if  only  40  per  cent,  of  the  seats  are  occupied  than  would  be  needed  if  CO  per 
cent,  of  the  seats  were  filled,  but  to  elaborate  the  calculation  for  each  of  the  conditions  would 
render  a  very  tedious  and  voluminous  calculation  necessary.  The  error  in  the  above  assunip 
tion  will  not  materially  influence  the  results  of  the  working  of  a  road. 


63 


Any  rapid  transit  road  to  be  profitable  must  pay  interest  on  the  money 
invested  in  real  estate,  &c.  Assuming  that  the  rate  of  this  interest  will 
be  8  per  cent. ,  it  is  plain  that  if  Ave  deduct  the  amount  of  the  interest  from 
the  total  profits,  the  balance  will  be  the  amounts  left  to  pay  interest  on 
the  cost  of  the  structure  itself.  In  order,  therefore,  to  be  able  to  pay  8 
per  cent,  on  the  latter,  its  cost  per  mile  must  not  exceed,  for  any  given 
volume  or  conditions  of  traffic  or  rate  of  fare  an  amount  on  which  the 
balance  referred  to  above,  will  pay  8  per  cent.  Tables  VII  to  XII 
have  been  calculated  from  these  data,  and  show  the  balance  of  profits 
left  after  paying  8  per  cent,  interest  on  the  cost  of  real  estate,  &c. ,  given 
in  Table  VI,  and  also  the  sums  on  which  this  balance  will  pay  8  per 
cent.,  which  are  the  amounts  that  can  be  profitably  invested  in  the 
road  structure  and  track  with  the  rates  of  fare  and  conditions  of  traffic 
indicated.  These  amounts  are  also  reduced  to  the  cost  per  mile  of 
single  track.  As  already  stated  in  the  body  of  the  report,  it  would  be 
unwise  to  expend  more  than  three-fourths  the  amounts  indicated  by  the 
calculations,  thus  reserving  the  remaining  fourth  as  a  "  financial  factor 
of  safety." 

As  a  system  of  roads  adequate  to  the  wants  of  New  York  City  would 
involve  the  construction  of  many  more  miles  of  road  than  were  assumed 
for  the  preceding  calculations,  some  further  explanation  may  be  needed. 
From  these  calculations  it  will  be  seen  that  a  traffic  of  15  000  000  pas- 
sengers per  year,  who  pay  6  cents  for  being  carried  5  miles,  would  make 
profitable  a  rapid  transit  road  of  that  length,  which  cost,  exclusive  of 
equipment,  &c,  not  exceeding  $400  000  per  mile  of  double  track.  In 
other  words,  each  mile  of  double  track  of  such  road  must  receive  pay  for 
carrying  15  000  000  passengers  over  it  per  year,  which  may  be  called 
15  000  000  passenger  miles,  at  1\  cents  each.  The  total  number  of  passen- 
ger miles,  then,  for  the  assumed  road  from  the  Battery  to  the  Central  Park} 
and  with  the  above  amount  of  traffic,  will  be  75  000  000  per  year.  Now, 
if  the  system  of  roads  on  each  side  of  tlie  city,  extending  from  the  Battery 
to  Harlem  Kiver,  is  constructed,  instead  of  having  5  miles  of  double 
track  road,  there  will  be  four  times  as  many,  or  20  miles.  To  be 
profitable,  therefore,  such  a  system  must  do  a  business  equivalent  to 
300  000  000  passenger  miles  per  year,*  which,  at  1£  cents  each,  would 
yield  a  gross  revenue  of  $3  600  000. 

*  It  should  of  course  be  kept  clearly  in  mind,  that  the  above  volume  of  traffic  consists  of 
300  000  000  passenger  miles  and  not  that  number  of  passengers.  This  traffic  might  consist 
of  100  000  000  passengers  who  paid  for  traveling  3  miles  each,  50  000  000  ;  who  paid  for  6  miles 
each,  33  333  333  ;  who  pay  for  traveling  9  miles  each  or,  as  would  be  most  probable,  it  would 
made  up  of  a  portion  of  each  of  these  kinds  of  passengers. 


64 


15  0(5ft  O0(^xolildve  of\ompnXut, 
->iVh>ub\  tr;\k  per^ear,  at\  rate  <51 


eal 

e 


Th<*.  precNliii^^os<)uiiatesMt  is  tiiought,  will  teustain^he  contusion 
drawn  b^^he  \^MtoV  t^it  a  rWd  {^anslo^oad  (Siting  \at  exceeding 
$40(\)()0  pi^unile  wtf  (TViIjIk  tracn^nus\m  o^ler  to\^p  profitable,  fiave 

averse  tnirlu-  eqirk:;il\it 
estate,  pas^mger  r 

nut  lr  r  tl       1  1  i  i  ill  i  |   i  mil 

note. — The  following  deductions,  made  from  the  preceding  calcula- 
tions and  contained  in  the  table  herewith,  may  be  of  interest  or  service  to 
those  who  are  investigating  the  subject  of  the  cost  or  profit  of  operating 
a  rapid  transit  road.  The  first  column  of  the  table  gives  the  average 
number  of  train  miles  run  in  order  to  carry  5,  10,  15,  20,  25  and  30  mil- 
lions of  passengers  per  year,  taken  from  the  Tables. 
The  second  column  gives  the  total  cost  of  running  these  trains  ;  the 
third  column  gives  this  cost  reduced  to  the  cost  per  mile.  The  fourth 
column  gives  the  earnings  per  mile  at  a  fare  of  1£  cents  per  passenger 
mile,  and  a  number  of  passengers  equal  to  45  per  cent,  of  the  seats  in  a 
train  consisting  of  three  cars,  with  48  seats  each.  The  last  column  gives 
the  profit  per  train  per  mile.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  cost  per  mile  of 
running  trains  grows  less  and  the  profit  greater  as  the  number  of  miles 
run  increases.  This  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  certain  fixed  expenses  are 
divided  among  a  larger  number  of  miles  run. 


Number  of  Train 

Total  Cost  of 

Cost  per  Train 

Earnings  pr.  Train  Profit  per  Train 

Mile  at  1|  cents 

Miles  Run. 

Running  Trains. 

Mile. 

per  Pass'ger  Mile, 

Mile. 

354  410 

$183  912 

$.5188 

$.7776 

$.2588 

708  820 

302  337 

.4265 

.7776 

.3511 

1  063  230 

435  101 

.4092 

.7776 

.3684 

1  417  640 

553  977 

.3907 

.7776 

.3869 

1  772  050 

706  652 

.3987 

.7776 

.3789 

2  126  460 

835  028 

.3926 

.7776 

.3850 

65 


APPENDIX  B. 


Estimate  of  Expfnditure  which  can  be  Afforded  foe  Road  and 
Equipment  of  Rapid  Transit  Roads  on  Various  Routes 
in  the  City  of  New  York,  by  O.  Chanute. 


I.  — On  the  basis  of  the  business  of  the  Third  Avenue  Railroad. 
Length,  8  miles — 26  950  000  passengers  carried  in   1873,  earning 
$1  512  396. 

Assume  that  a  rapid  transit  road,  located  over  the  same  route,  would 
do  an  equal  business,  of  which  one-third  should  be  through,  paying  10 
cents,  and  two-thirds  local,  paying  5  cents,  and  traveling  on  trains 
running  8  and  4  miles  respectively.    Then  the  earnings  would  be  : 

9  000  000  through  passengers  per  annum,  at  10  cents   $900  000 

18  000  000  local  at  5  cents   900  000 


Total  earnings  $1  800  000 

If  each  passenger  traveled  the  whole  distance  of  the  train,  their  mile- 
age would  be  : 

9  000  000  through  passengers  x  8  =  72  000  000  passengers  one  mile. 
18  000  000  local  "  x  4  =  72  000  000        "  "  " 


Total   144  000  000         "  "  " 

Assume  20  passengers  to  each  car,  capable  of  seating  46  ;  then  to  run 
144  000  000  passengers  one  mile  requires  7  200  000  car  miles,  and  if 
the  average  train  consists  of  3  cars,  a  train  mileage  of  2  400  000  train 
miles.  Thus  with  an  average  train  of  3  cars  of  46  seats  each,  giving  an  ac- 
commodation of  138  seats,  it  is  assumed  that  the  average  load  is  only  60 
passengers — say  100  in  one  direction  and  20  in  the  other,  in  consequence 
of  the  tidal  flow  of  the  business. 
The  expense  will  probably  be  as  on  next  page  : 


66 


Per  train  mile. 


1  conductor  (with  a  train-brake)  100  miles  per  day   0.03 1  cents. 

1  engineer  and  1  fireman  100    "      "     "    0.05£  " 

Fuel,  oil,  waste  and  small  stores   0.0G 

Water  and  incidental  expenses   0.01  " 

Repairs  of  engines  and  tools     0 . 06  " 

Total  train  service   0.22  " 

Car  service,  3  cars  at  2  cents  each  per  mile  run   0.06  '* 

General  expenses,  $48  000  a  year  on  2  400  000  train  miles   0.02  " 

Station  service,  $120  000      "      "        "         "       «    0.05  *' 

Track  repairs,  (small  in  consequence  of  permanent  structure)   0.07  " 

Roadway  charges  (depreciation  and  repairs,  of  structure  and  buildings)   0.06  " 

Insurance  and  contingencies   0.§2  " 

Total  estimated  cost   0.50  " 


The  expense  of  running  all  trains,  both  passenger  and  freight,  on  13 
leading  British  railroads  in  1872,  varied  from  58  to  73  cents  per  mile  run, 
and  on  7  leading  American  railroads  for  the  same  year,  from  Si.  09  to 
31.70  per  mile  ruD,  so  that  the  above  cost,  for  a  train  which  will  probably 
weigh  less  than  one-fifth  as  much  as  even  an  ordinary  passenger  trains 
is  not  likely  to  be  exceeded  for  the  volume  of  business  assumed. 

It  is  quite  probable  that  the  track  repairs  and  roadway  charges  here 
assumed  to  cost  13  cents  per  mile  run,  would  not  exceed  5  or  6  cents,  in 
consequence  of  the  greater  permanence  of  the  structure,  but  if  assumed 


as  above  : 

Gross  earnings,  as  above  estimated  $1  800  000 

2  400  000  train  miles,  at  50  cents  per  mile   1  200  000 


Net  profit   $600  000 


which  is  the  interest  at  8  per  cent  on  $7  500  000,  or  a  cost  of  $937  500  a 
mile  for  8  miles. 

This  profit  would  not  be  realized  immediately  upon  the  opening  of 
the  road,  as  many  local  passengers  would  still  take  the  horse-cars,  and  it 
would  require  from  three  to  five  years  for  the  population  to  adjust  itself 
to  the  new  conditions.  If  it  is  assumed  that  during  that  time  the  busi- 
ness is  only  one  half  of  that  assumed  above,  the  earnings  will  be  : 


4  500  000  through  passengers  per  annum  at  10  cents  $450  000 

9  000  000  local  •'  "      "       at  5  cents   450  000 

Gross  earnings  $90°  000 

Expenses,  1  200  000  train  miles  at  50  cents   $600  000 

Net  profit   $300  000 


or  interest  at  8  per  cent,  on  a  cost  of  $3  750  000,  or  $4G8  750  per  mile. 


67 


While  the  cost  of  the  train  mile  is  here  assumed  at  50  cents,  it  is  more 
likely  to  be  46  cents  a  mile  for  the  first  two  years.  The  station  service 
and  general  expenses  will,  it  is  true,  be  spread  over  a  smaller  basis,  but 
the  machinery  and  structure  will  be  new  and  in  less  need  of  repairs.  The 


estimate  is  as  follows  : 

Train  service  (2  cents  less  per  mile  run  on  engine  repairs)   0.20  cents. 

Car*  service  (1  cent      "      "     "      "   by  cars  for    "     )   0.03  " 

General  expense  ($36  000  a  year  on  1  200  000  train  miles)   0.03 

Station  service  ($120  000     "      "       "  "      "     )   0.10  " 

Track  repairs  (quite  small  in  consequence  of  newness)    0.04  " 

Roadway  charges  (  "  "  "         )   0.04  " 

Insurance  and  contingencies   0.02  " 

4   

Total  cost  per  train  mile   0.46 


It  is  therefore  deemed  safe  to  assume  50  cents  per  train  mile  in  the 
subsequent  estimates. 

II.  On  the  Basis  or  the  Business  of  the  Eighth  Avenue  Raie- 
koad. — Length  10  miles, — 15  143  048  passengers  carried,  earning  $798  040. 


Assume  gross  earnings  to  be  : 

5  000  000  through  passengers  per  annum  at  10  cents   $508  00 

10  000  000  local  "         •«      "      at  5  cents   600  00 

Gross  earnings  $1  000  00 

assume  train  load  of  60  passengers  as  above  : 


5  oeo  000  x  10 

Through  passengers   —  =  833  333  train  miles. 

60 

10  000  000  x  5     noo  000 
Local  "   ^  =  833  333  « 

DU 

1  666  666  " 

Expenses  1  666  666  train  miles  at  50  cents   838  333 

Net  profit   $166  667 

which  is  8  per  cent,  on  only  $2  083  337.50,  or  $208  333,  per  mile  for  10 
miles,  and  evidently  will  not  do. 

This  result  is  due  to  two  causes,  first,  the  smaller  volume  of  busi- 
ness, and  second,  the  greater  length  of  line.  The  fares  having  been  as- 
sumed as  the  same,  the  increased  length  of  road  reduces  them  from  l£ 
cent  per  mile  to  1  cent.  If,  however,  for  the  double  purpose  of  raising 
slightly  the  rates  of  fares  and  better  filling  the  trains,  by  proportion- 
ing them  more  accurately  to  the  volume  of  travel,  we  suppose  the  line 
operated  in  three  circuits  from  the  Battery,  the  first  reaching  to  the 
vicinity  of  Union  Square,  2i  miles,  at  4  cents  fare  ;  the  second  to  the 
lower  end  of  Central  Park,  5  miles,  at  6  cents  fare,  and  the  third  to 
Harlem  River  at  13  cents  fare,  we  have  the  following  probable  earnings 
from  the  same  volume  of  business  : — 


68 


6  000  000  Passengers— Battery  to  Union  Square,  at  4  cents   $200  000 

6  000  000         "  «'         59th  street,  at  6  cents   300  000 

5  009  COO         "  "         Harlem  River,  at  13  cents   650  000 

Gross  earnings   $1  150  000 

Assume  an  average  train  load  of  70  passengers,  instead  of  GO  as  before,  for 
every  138  seats  carried: 

5  000  000x  23 

Union  Square  trains   —  4  =  189  286  train  miles. 

„    x   .  „    ,  5  000  000  x  5 

Central  Park      ••       .  =  3o7  143 

70 

,T    ,  5  000  000x10  „ 

Harlem  River   —  =  714  286  " 

70 

1  260  715 

Expenses  1  260  715  train  miles,  at  50  cents   630  357  50 

Net  profit  $519  642  50 

which  is  8  per  cent,  on  $6  495  531,  or  8649  553  per  mile  for  10  miles. 

As,  however,  the  western  upper  part  of  the  city  served  by  this  line 
contains  much  the  best  sites  for  residences,  it  is  probable  that  the 
volume  of  its  business  would  grow  to  be  greater  than  is  here  assumed,  and 
might  be  fully  equal  to  that  on  the  Third  Avenue  line. 

TTT  Estimate  of  Expenditure  which  can  be  afforded  by  the  Har- 
lem Railroad. — To  extend  from  Grand  Central  Depot  to  Battery. 

Total  length  to  be  operated  9  miles,  of  which  about  4£  miles  are  now 
building  for  other  purposes,  at  a  cost  of  about  $7  000  000,  of  which  the 
city  pays  a  part,  and  a  tunnel  is  built  from  Forty-second  to  Thirty -fourth 
streets.  There  remains,  therefore,  about  4  miles  of  rapid  transit  road  to 
build,  from  Thirty -fourth  street  to  the  Battery. 

The  present  street-car  traffic  on  this  line  consists  of  8  730  888  pass- 
engers carried  13  096  332  miles,  or  an  average  of  1$  miles  each. 

If  the  length  be  doubled  and  the  time  now  occupied  reduced  by  rapid 
transit,  the  business  will  more  than  double  at  once.  In  three  years  it  will 
have  quadrupled,  and  the  earnings  are  likely  to  be: — 

10  000  000  through  passsengers,  at  10  cents   $1  000  000 

25  000  «00  local  "         at  5  cents   1  250  000 

Gross  earnings   $2  250  000 

42d  street   trains,    —  °00^00  *  -  =  1  666  666  train  miles. 
60 

10  000  000  x  9 
Harlem  "   =  =  1  500  000 

3  166  666 

Expenses  3  166  666  train  miles  at  50  cents   1  583  333 

Net  profit   $666  667 


69 


Now  if  the  through  business  of  the  roads  terminating  at  Forty-second 
street  pays  interest  upon  the  cost  north  of  that  point,  the  profits  upon 
the  additional  traffic  thrown  over  the  line  may  all  be  applied  in  paying 
the  interest  upon  its  extension.  Assume,  however,  that  8166  667  be 
applied  in  additional  returns  on  the  road  north  of  Forty-second  street, 
and  8500  000  on  the  southern  extension,  it  would  pay  8  per  cent,  on 
$6  250  000,  or  81  562  500  per  mile  for  a  length  of  4  miles. 

If  the  whole  profit  must  be  applied  in  interest  on  the  whole  9  miles,  it 
would  warrant  an  expenditure  of  88  333  337.50,  or  8925  925  per  mile. 

Nothing  has  been  allowed  in  the  above  estimates  for  earnings  from 
mails,  nor  from  express  packages.  These  will  be  sources  of  considerable 
revenue,  but  they  are  above  omitted,  in  order  to  compensate  for  any 
possible  under-estimate  of  the  operating  expenses. 


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I  iii  Hi  ill  lii  in 


tit!! 


81 


lllls 
Hill 

3 


SsSlS 


38S8E 
suss 


883B8 
sslis 
"  -a" 


mil 

EEiSE 


11111 

lllls 

Hill 

13311 

N3S3 

88888 

11311 

33311 

18181 

31333 

BSB8B 

I8EE8 

allll 

iiiil 

31133 

S8EBS 

§1333 

9 

5 

31113 

siEsa 

8S88B 

mil 

llsll 

| 

llgli 

lllls 

11111 

nils 

Slsia 

- 

rH 

rH 

rH 

1 

SSES8 

38381 

38838 

siiaa 

11111 

1 

2 

BESIB 

CO 

8EB38 

8E38E 

733 
177 
555 
6  943 
694 

I 

B8E13 

llsll 

11111 

11111 

38311 

I 

SSSBB 

IN 

3S888 

IBSSg 

M  Ml 

NNl 

i  n  3 

m 

M  Ml 

il 

l 

I  iiiil 


i 

i-IIH 

I 

ill 

Iiiil 


1 
II 

II! 
ill 


Estimated  Receipts  from  all  Sources,  and  Cost  of  Handling  Domestic  Produce  at  the  Port  of  New  York,  for  the  Year  1873. 


The  above  table  has  been  compiled  from  the  best  information  fnrni»he.l  by  tbe  merchants,  anil  others  |Km«ing  knowledge  o(  particular  facta.  It  .iimbtln*  contains  many  errors  of  J.  mils,  yet  it  is  believed  tliat  tlicao 
will  not  materially  affect  the  correctness  of  the  conclusions  drawn  by  the  committee.    Parties  possessing  more  accurate  information  will  confer  a  favor  by  forwarding  it  to  the  Secretary  of  the  .Society,  in  order  that  tlu 


1 


V 


2  ST)  ^      6aK  '/r 


